Atrophy
by pyro-rocketeer
Summary: Everyone, from the dreamers to the schemers, wants to be Hokage. The Uchiha clan plots, Danzo plots, and Leaf's enemies wait to strike her heel. So, to ensure the village's security, the Fifth Hokage plays the cards she's been dealt. Non-massacre. Multi-character. Sakura-centric and Tsunade-centric. (July 19th, Edits in progress 3/7—HIATUS)
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing.**

Atrophy.

Old summary: Team Seven has rotted. Tsunade Senju is dead. Danzo has taken the throne. The Uchiha clan always fears and Leaf's enemies always plot. But there's always hope, isn't there? Non-massacre. AU. Rated for swearing, violence, licks of horror/gore. Dark!AU. Multichar but mostly two main characters.

 **a/n** : **Before you read this. [June 12, 2017]**

When I started writing Atrophy a year ago, I wanted to write a fanfic that was honest about characters in the Shinobi world. So the rambling prose and lack of plotty elements was just my way of focusing more on the characters and all the little things that affect each other. Recently, on discord, I had a discussion with a couple of people about "bullying" in the Shinobi world. The way it is encouraged, the way it's cyclical.

Another thing is that Atrophy gets dark. The original summary contained Tsunade's death. This doesn't really change. Tsunade will be a tragic hero, and Sakura will grow into her element—unhealthily even. I just want to tell you the story of how we get there.

Based on that knowledge, I went back and edited Atrophy. Special thanks to enbi, CJ and snogs. Also to all the reviewers who have encouraged me over the year.

Thank you for reading.

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'Rubble, blood and bodies filled the streets as people tried to escape. There was only chaos.' This is how reports describe the Kyuubi attack.

The Sandaime directed orders left and right as he approached the gargantuan form of the Kyuubi. Kushina Uzumaki reigned the beast in with her family technique. But the beast was stark raving mad, the professor wrote. It writhed and howled, and something was wrong. If Mito Uzumaki's accounts of the kyuubi were reliable, in which it was a malicious beast who looked for every opportunity to undermine her. A smart, thinking beast.

So, the Professor assumed that there was something underhanded at play when it drew its claw and smashed the ground, but at the same time assumptions were deadly things.

Regardless of his conclusion, he was distracted when he realized why Kushina Uzumaki was bearing the Kyuubi down.

"Minato! Kushina!" he yelled. "Minato no!"

An ugly dread filled him, because he realized that he was too late. _Too late._ The Fourth had already summoned the Shinigami. And thus, the great beast was restored into the belly of the Fourth's son. With a dying cry, the maddened beast tried to jab its future prisoner with its claw. A vain attempt.

Husband and wife used their bodies to protect their newborn son and the beast pierced right through them.

Records state that the Kyuubi cursed the village when he dissipated. Future academy textbooks would say that the Yondaime _defeated_ the great fox and became a Hero. The professor thinks that that might as well be true. The Yondaime was a hero.

So, husband and wife fell gracefully together, and the Fourth's arms wrapped around his wife. His wife whispered promises to her baby-boy as they were brought down to their knees. He rested his chin on her shoulder and looked down on his son.

"Promise me you'll be a good boy, Naruto," she said. Blood bubbled from her mouth when she smiled. Her husband clutched her tighter. "Promise me you'll eat your ramen. You won't cause too much trouble, and you'll be a good boy."

"Minato! Kushina!" The Sandaime screamed, throat raw. "No!"

Medics rushed to their aid.

Future records would only state that the Sandaime arrived in time to hear Minato Namikaze's last words. His wife's cooling body lay within the crook of his arm. Their baby boy bawled on his other side. The professor writes in later accounts that he wishes things didn't end up this way. In another life, where people weren't as cruel—Naruto would be raised with loving parents.

"Lord Hokage…" the Yondaime whispered. "There is an intruder into this village. There is a murderer still loose on these streets. He's not of the village but I suspect he was of the village."

Someone barked for the medic to move faster behind them.

"What do you mean?" the Professor asked. He applied pressure to Minato's wounds as he held his head up. "Speak Minato! Stay with me boy. You can't die on me. You can't die on your son!"

The Yondaime's lips dripped with blood when he spoke.

"He had the sharingan."

"Minato…"

The newly arrived medic—who caught the tail end of the conversation—stiffened. The Sandaime's gaze was directly on Minato's face.

"He had the sharingan, but he was… _not_ of…Konoha."

"He was not of the Uchiha clan?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked. "Are they the culprits responsible for the attack?"

"He…was…not…I don't know…but the murderer on these streets...he aims to sow discord into the village..." he croaked out. "He aims to use the Uchiha clan to destroy it…protect the village…Sandaime-sama. For my student Obito, for the sake of my friend Fugaku, please do not release your wrath on the clan."

The medic barked orders in the background, and the baby cried bitterly into the cold rankling air, and the Sandaime widened his eyes and cradled the Fourth's head.

"Minato." His voice cracked. "You can't die before me! Not before you see your son walk!"

His pleas were lost in the sudden exclamations of the medics saying

"We've lost his pulse!" and "The Fourth is..."

Their little baby boy cried harder.

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As for the intruder?

The irony cut like kunai against his regenerating skin on his stomach made by the Fourth's rasengan.

He hated his kin. His head buzzed with sick memories of dead brothers and dead people and red eyes like blood. Cursed flesh of cursed flesh, he bit out curses at the sky. Because it gave him strength.

"Soon. All of you will die. You foolish cursed clansmen."

But the Uchiha district vacated in the light of the Kyuubi attack, which is why this was the safest and most familiar route. There was not a single Uchiha here. Every adult and child was evacuated. He then heard someone nearby.

"Itachi!"

It was a boy. A young boy with tousled, wind-swept hair. He looked to be seven.

"Itachi, where are you! This is not funny!" the boy called out. The boy sensed him then. He glanced at him. Tobi entertained thoughts of being a boogie man with tattered clothes—like the ones in his grandmother's tales.

He tilted his head.

"Who are you?" the boy asked. He pulled out his kunai from his back pocket.

"Who wants to know?" Tobi rasped back.

There was a sort of familiarity about the boy. Of sun-kissed days, silly shenanigans, scabbed toes and the sound of a rasping, gurgling "Obi-nii!" He recognized the boy, but it didn't matter because the boy wouldn't recognize him.

And then very lazily, Tobi flung a kunai at the boy. The child dodged. He picked himself up immediately. He had the lightness of a child's body and the reflexes of a shinobi. Also he had the sharingan. Seven years old and he had the sharingan.

But despite this, the boy didn't move to attack immediately. A smart move, Tobi thought.

He was a prodigy.

"So, you have the sharingan too."

The boy said nothing.

"Pity," Tobi said. "So young, and so many dreams snuffed out. You'll probably die an unfortunate death at the hands of your village, which is why I don't have time to mess with you. Shoo." He waved his hand like he waved a dog away. The boy didn't budge. Instead, his eyes narrowed—no doubt calculating the distance between them, the dexterity and agility of his blows, and his chances of winning the fight.

What a blithering idiot. "You really want to die, don't you?"

Tobi really, really didn't want to kill an Uchiha. He had a lot of elaborate schemes, and killing an Uchiha directly interfered with his agenda. And Tobi's agenda was to turn the clan against the village and the village against the clan.

He decided to act upon a whim. Maybe one shut mouth wouldn't—

"Shisui!"

Something inside his fragmented mind jolted with familiarity at the sound of that voice. He dodged an arsenal of shuriken. They flew through his body. One of them had ripped through the fabric of his sleeve as he teleported to the roof of a house.

Tobi blandly removed the shuriken from his sleeve and twirled it on the edge of his pinky.

"And the freakshow just keeps going on and on and on—"

"Who are you?!"

That's when it struck him. Tousled hair, blazing sharingan and a reminder of Kagami Uchiha. Kagami's grandson. Tobi made the connection. His eyes flickered over to the man. He murmured something to his son.

"Otousan?" Tobi picked up on the boy's whisper. "Who is he?"

"Shisui stay back," he said. "This opponent is dangerous." He narrowed his eyes.

Well then, he dilly dallied too long here. He wasn't about to fight Kagari Uchiha, and whatever kinsmen his cursed clan pit him against. He moved to leave, but it was too late. Then the man's eyes lit red. First form. Then the second and then pin-wheels. The Mangekyou Sharingan. Tobi's own eyes spun behind his mask, but he couldn't—he wasn't fast enough.

"This is one of the strongest Mangekyou techniques! Mirror of Truth!" the man said.

When did he—

His mask unwound, and something which felt like tiny hands peeled off his skin. His feet left the ground. The world tunnelled, and the world bent and twisted till his body curved into and towards the tunnel, and propelled him forward into the sudden burst of light at the end of the tunnel.

"Mirror of Truth" was one of those techniques that shattered illusions and allowed people to see your past, your present and your future—all within a fraction of a minute.

One. Two. Two and half. "You will not escape!" Kagari said. Three. "You will not harm this village, intruder! May the mirror of truth reveal your intentions toward Konoha!" Four. Five.

Five and half.

All his plans, his careful premediated plans were _ripped_ out of his mind. All his hard work, all of his secrets, all of them were stripped. Exposed.

Six.

Kagari faltered. It took him six fucking seconds. **Six fucking seconds.**

"You are…"

Kagari Uchiha stared at him, first with familiarity and then with pain. Tobi grit his teeth and howled. Kagari's technique receded.

The only problem was that Mirror's Truth was exhaustive and took a significant portion of Kagami's chakra. The real reason why it wasn't so well known is because Kagari hardly used it much at all.

" _Get out!"_ _Tobi rasped._

 _Pity._

"Obi…to?"

"Hello Uncle," Tobi felt the cool casing of his mask over his cheek-bones once again. He felt the night air dance through his hair. Kagari's eyes swirled.

Wicked don't rest, and neither do Tobi's fingers.

The world spun around them once more.

"Obito…why?" Kagari whispered again. His mind still reeling with images of old founding fathers and dead crushes and fallen rocks. "What have you done?"

It was Kagari's hesitance to act that day, which caused Shisui to lose a father and also alter the future of Konoha. It was Tobi's erratic persistence that day, which won him the fight but lost him much more.

"I can't let you live. Sorry, Uncle."

Kagari moved back to guard himself. He was too slow. Tobi rammed his hand through the man's chest, smashing through his ribs, tearing its way past the tissue, the blood, the flesh and towards the beating organ, pulling him into the Kamui.

"But at least your eyes will be useful for my work." Six seconds. **Six seconds.** That's all it took for all his plans to get ruined.

He reached for the man's eyes with his free hand. Kagari snapped his lids shut.

"Not so f-fast…" Kagari choked. He reached for the tag underneath his sleeve of his ANBU outfit. Before Obito could react, the man blew himself up into a blast of flesh. It rained blood onto the streets below.

Tobi pulled back his charred arms.

"Your…plans won't work…" Kagari's last words filled Obito's head. "You will…not…win…"

Tobi saw Shisui run up to his father's fallen body, or what was left of it. There was an arm here, a leg there and a torso somewhere else.

His young, intelligent eyes spun with the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Otousan!" Shisui screamed. His tears streamed down his cheek and a single red tear fell. "Otousan! No!"

Obito glanced away from the scene.

The Kamui spiraled to a close, and it was like the fall of a heavy curtains on the play.

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Young Shisui witnessed his father's death, and his testimony was enough for people to know the "true cause of the Kyuubi attack." Weakened, Konoha rebuilt from the ground up, and they began the search for this intruder. The death of one of their most prominent clansmen angered the Uchiha clan.

And in this life, Konoha doesn't blame the Uchiha for the attack, because the Sandaime honored the Yondaime's wish for peace. For a Konoha that worked together.

While yes, Tobi miscalculates the effect of the Kyuubi attack on his foolish cursed clansmen, the Uchiha do plot. But only in the thick of the night—murmurs and complaints. There are no massacres in this story. Only Danzo bides his time in the thick of Leaf's roots.

The records state that the death-toll, shinobi and civilian, rose to 200. Konoha never lets her injustices lay forgotten, and the Sandaime makes sure of that.

Even if it wasn't in his life-time, he'd bring the intruder to see the face of Konoha's wrath.

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Twelve years later, Orochimaru attacked the village with the help of Suna.

Construction took place on one half of the village. The council and the clan-council met to discuss the next Hokage candidate and how.

Orochimaru defeated the Sandaime, but the wayward Saanin fled with his arms sealed. Nearly thirty percent of the village suffered damages. But it was nothing that Konoha couldn't recover from.

The remaining Sand shinobi were detained. There were negotiations about the new Hokage. Kakashi Hatake. Jiraiya.

Incompetent, the council argued. Morons who read and wrote porn in broad day-light. Jiraiya would never _return_ to the village as a resident Hokage. He wasn't cut out for the life. Hatake…well…they shuddered to think of all the excuses he had for being late for important meetings.

Like being lost on the road of life.

Moving on.

Itachi Uchiha, Fugaku suggested.

Too young, the council replied.

The council eventually decided on a candidate. They seem like the only candidate who would sit long hours, make responsible decisions and do paper-work, not skive off work to go peep on women, or read inappropriate subject matter during meetings.

Fugaku Uchiha was horrified. Hiashi Hyuuga was not amused. Shikaku Nara sighed. Chouza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka exchanged humored looks.

"The Legendary Loser? Tsunade would use the village funds to pay off her debt!" Homura said.

"In all of the Land of Fire, she is the only worthy candidate at the moment," Koharu said and glanced at the clan head. "Unless one of our esteemed clan-heads have better ideas."

"Shisui Uchiha," Fugaku said. "The Uchiha clan has plenty of worthy candidates."

"Too valuable to be Hokage," one of the council member argued. "He is better off in the Fire Daimyo's elite guard squad."

At the time, Shimura Danzo was not present for the meeting. But no one voted him in, and neither was the Aburame clan present. Nara Shikaku assumed that Shibi was far too busy with his clan duties. Whatever those might be.

"Yes Uchiha," Hiashi snapped. He wasn't about to lose to an Uchiha. "Just weaponry and a little bit of skill does not guarantee the makings of a good Hokage. You need experience and age. Tsunade Senju really does make an excellent choice."

But convincing Tsunade Senju was another feat, Shikaku Nara thought.

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White sheets, cream walls and the incessant beeping of the machines was all he listened to in the past two days.

Sasuke had been in a coma since his fight with Gaara of the Sand. He and a bunch of genin had managed to stall Shukaku long enough for the Bijuu to actually wreck havoc on the village.

Sasuke hadn't woken up in two days, and Itachi hadn't slept in two days.

There was a slight knock on the door.

"Come in," Itachi called out. "It's open."

The door clicked, and in entered a girl with a shock of pink hair and scared green eyes. She widened her eyes at the sight of him. He didn't have any energy left to console her.

"Sorry! I'm just here to see him," she squeaked.

"That's fine," he said. "Who are you again?"

"Sakura Haruno, sir," the girl said. "I'm his team-mate."

His brother had brought over his team-mates for dinner, and Itachi hadn't been present. But at first glance, the girl didn't strike him as a shinobi. _Pink hair._ Long pink hair. Bright green eyes. Harunos weren't a clan, they were probably civilian then. The past six to eight months had been a trying time for him.

"Aa…" he said. The girl fumbled with her hands.

"I'm s-sorry. I'll come back at a better time."

"No that's fine. You can stay. Just shut the door."

"Okay."

She shut the door and it rattled to a close. A bit harder than expected. She squeaked half-an-apology, and scraped the chair towards the two brothers—apologized again—and sat down. She wrung the hem of her red dress and then very softly said, "Are you his older brother?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

She wrung the hem of her dress like you'd wring a rag of water. Twist it in, let go. Twist it. Let go. He endured a few minutes of silence before he heard her talk again.

"I…have something to say."

Itachi inclined his head in her direction.

"It's my fault that your brother is in this coma."

She might be just being modest. Most team-mates carry some sort of burden of guilt, because they happened to be in the same place at the same time. It's just a misfortunate series of events. ANBU always blamed themselves when something went wrong within a team. A casuality—

"Sasuke stepped between me and a fatal blow because I couldn't move. I'm sorry, he tried to save me, because I closed my...eyes."

 _What? Itachi thought._ _Never_ close your eyes.

Itachi went _very_ still. He looked at her, and really looked at her.

"My sensei said that I should be more careful next time. He didn't give me any other advice though," she babbled. "I'm sorry. I think I was more of burden than a help…"

She looked up.

She trailed off at his furious look.

Itachi was _tired_. He was tired of waiting long nights for a flicker of an eyelid. He was sick of the worry that at every knock on the door, someone might come to him and say, "Sorry Itachi, your brother won't make it."

As an Uchiha, a great many people targeted Sasuke for his eyes, his position within the clan, and his abilities. Orochimaru was one of them. Itachi tightened his fists. The old Hokage knew this, yet he dared to put an incompetent kunoichi on his brother's team. The fumbling, the trembling, the way she looked down at her wrung hem of her qipao—it irritated Itachi. She reminded Itachi of dead-weight. Someone who was truly repentant for their actions would be out there practicing.

Because in their world failure meant death.

"Maybe." Caustic irritation formed on the tip of his tongue. "Maybe I shouldn't be the one you should be apologizing to. Maybe you should be apologizing to your team for being a sorry excuse of a kunoichi."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Or your lack of team, thereof. Your team-mates are Naruto and Sasuke, correct?" Itachi demanded.

She nodded, and her bottom lip trembled.

"I'm sure they will be promoted for making it past the preliminary fights. Naruto was particularly exceptional with his clone usage. Sasuke had tremendous amount of skill for an Uchiha. I didn't hear about Sakura until a minute prior."

And he surveyed her. From her long, thickly conditioned hair to her frightfully painted nails. Green. The color of her watery eyes. She squirmed at his gaze. The battlefield was no place for flimsy kunoichi like her. Itachi only functioned on steady logic, and the complacency in Konoha when it came to competency began to irritate him. People's lives were on the line!

It was also the byproduct of being in ANBU for many years and dealing with his duties towards his clan.

"And they will leave you behind," he said. "And you will try again for genin. And I assure you, the Hokage will be _advised_ of your incompetency, because you will endanger some other team."

He smiled, and it wasn't pleasant.

"I do hope the best for the unfortunate team you come across."

And she stood up, and trembled. Her hands balled into fists. Itachi almost felt sorry for her pitiful display. He wasn't a kind person. He was a reasonable person. All things considered, he was also terribly disgusted by her lack of discipline and interest in the profession. He was an Uchiha. Sasuke was an Uchiha. They were expected to out-perform.

They couldn't do that with _weak links._

So, he decided to add in one more word or two as she stood up. The chair behind her clattered to the cold floor as she moved to the door. She caught the knob.

"Good luck _Sakura Haruno_. You will truly need it," he called after her as she flew out.

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The Konoha general Hospital was always her domain, and when she returned, that didn't change. Her first order of business was inspection. Their cream walls hadn't been painted in years, and it was clear that her former teacher didn't think hospital funding was needed. The head-medic's requests would have been constantly rebuffed.

The head-medic just wasn't "insistent enough."

"Lady Hokage," the nurse who Fugaku and Mikoto spoke to turned and bowed. She glanced at the Uchiha.

Fugaku stood up as she walked past them. Her heels clicked against the dirty floor of Konoha General Hospital and reverberated through the corridors. A timid nurse followed her. Tsunade paused. She snapped her fingers.

"This hospital is inadequate. Konoha has really _degraded_ since I've left." Tsunade Senju said with a wrinkle of her nose. She looked left and then right, then she noticed the Uchiha family who were seated in the lobby.

"Dear…that's…" Mikoto pulled her husband's sleeve.

"Senju-sama." Fugaku nodded his head in her direction. With the stride of an Uchiha, he walked up to her. "It's good to have you back in the village."

"How are you finding Konoha?" Mikoto asked her with a polite smile.

"Lord and Lady Uchiha," Tsunade replied and nodded. "Travelling gives you some perspective, and the food is the only redeeming point about Konoha these days."

Fugaku bristled internally. Mikoto's smile remained plastered.

"Now, what can I help you with?" She shifted her sharp eyes to the two of them.

"My son is a coma," Fugaku said. "I was here to visit him."

"A coma." Tsunade stated blandly. She snapped her fingers and turned to the nurse. "I need their son's medical report."

The nurse squeaked and dropped her cup. "Yes right away."

"You only get a minute. Run!" Tsunade called after her. The nurse scampered down the corridor. "Hmm…efficiency is lacking in this hospital." She looked down at the grimy floor. "And so is hygiene. Pitiful."

She walked past them with an air that was so _disgustingly_ Senju (in Fugaku's opinion.) She commented lightly for a minute on this and that, mostly to herself. Mikoto patted her husband's tense arm soothingly. One thing was clear about the new Godaime, she didn't make small talk.

The nurse came rushing back.

"A minute and three seconds," Tsunade said. She took the file from the nurse, flipped it open and scanned the contents, muttering to herself. "Ah—Sasuke Uchiha."

She paused to read the contents for a minute. One mind-wringing, heart-stopping, wretched minute. She flipped the file back and forth. One page, two and then three. Then she stopped and smirked at something.

How disgustingly Senju, Fugaku thought again. She almost forgot about them.

She didn't.

"Well," she hummed. "Poor boy."

Mikoto blinked. Fugaku blinked. The nurse also blinked.

"Can you make him better?" Fugaku asked her, carefully, like he was stepping on glass-shards.

"Are you insulting me Uchiha?" she snorted, and turned the page, which contained Sasuke's scowling birth-photo, to read the contents of the next one. _Typical Uchiha_. She hummed. Too bad girls were too captivated by their good looks to look at their rotten personalities. "I can make him well."

Tsunade didn't care very much for her Senju background since her entire family was dead—save for some scattered members of the population around the Fire Nation—but she didn't have a single inkling as to why someone would put a _third_ Senju in charge of the village when there were Uchiha candidates.

But she did want to maintain her predecessor's legacy of peace in the village. Konoha was hostile, Tsunade believed. It was hostile towards her as a woman Hokage, and she quite frankly was too "old" to give a shit. She closed the file.

"He'll be up in the evening." She tossed the file at the poor nurse, who fumbled to catch it. "Come back later. Nurse, inform the doctor in charge that I have taken over the Uchiha's case."

Later that evening, both parents and Itachi entered Sasuke's room to see him sitting up. He stared down at his hands, and then his parents.

It was then that Fugaku Uchiha decided that he was okay with Tsunade Senju as Hokage.

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"Going to visit that Uchiha in the hospital, again?"

Sakura glanced over her shoulder at her mother, who leaned against her door-frame. She had not visited Sasuke in a week. She was pretty sure that he was discharged. She was also doing her damned best to avoid any Uchiha within the village.

"Yes mama," she lied. Because Mama liked Uchiha Sasuke better than Uzumaki Naruto.

"I heard you failed your exam."

Sakura stiffened.

"That means less pay, doesn't it?" Mebuki asked. She dropped Sakura's folded laundry onto her bed. "You'll also no longer be on the same team as _that_ demon boy."

Naruto's name was on the tip of her tongue. But Sakura reigned it in. _Say_ _Naruto_.

"Also, your father and I would like to talk to you in the evening."

Mebuki closed the door behind her. Sakura pulled her red qipao over her head. She twirled around in the mirror. Once, then twice. She grimaced and pulled her hair into a braid. A few minutes later and she marvelled at the fish-tail braid.

"What would Sasuke—" Her face fell.

Itachi had been right.

She was no longer on Sasuke's team. Sasuke became a chuunin and was climbing up the shinobi ladder. Even Naruto had been assigned the rank of a chuunin, and this left Sakura behind. It inched inside her and churned like discomfort. _Do something. Be someone._

She heaved a sigh and pushed up her window. She was definitely going to _try_ to stay out late.

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There was a bouquet on the table from the Uchiha family.

Tsunade reclined against the Hokage's leather seat.

"'Dearest Tsunade,'" the Slug-Saanin reads out. "'If you are reading this right now, you must have accepted position of Hokage. As my favourite student _pfft_ —" she snickered to herself "—I always knew you would.'"

Shikaku Nara waited.

"'I am going to die by Orochimaru's hand. I have probably succeeded in sealing his arms, therefore rendering him useless for the time. No doubt, he will try and approach you. But leaving Orochimaru for now. The Sound village will be subdued at present. There's another pending issue—'"

She flipped the page of the letter.

"This is long," she muttered. "'There's another pending issue at hand. You are aware of Konoha's war hawk, Shimura Danzo? Well, in the past twelve years since I returned to power, my life has had attempts on it exactly three times. The first one was foiled. The second one betrayed the War-hawk—he is loyal to me. The third one, we captured and killed. He will no doubt attempt something similar. You can read about all the attempts.'"

Tsunade put down the letter with a severe look in Shikaku's direction.

"So why didn't you arrest him if you were certain of Danzo's actions. You are Konoha's master tactician and the damn Hokage for goodness sake."

"It's a lot more complicated than that, Hokage-sama." Shikaku said. "The Third had his suspicions about his former cell-mate. We could never pin-point evidence. ROOT has the protection of the council, as an asset and an important part of the village's growth."

"And you believe that?"

"I have no evidence to believe otherwise." Tsunade drummed her fingers against the table. "We performed multiple investigations. You can read about them."

"I need alcohol for this," she muttered. "Moving on. 'The next issue is the problem of an organization called Akatsuki, one of whose members appears to have been from the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha records, however, were insufficient to pin him down. Unless, he's one of the dead. We have evidence to believe that he was the main culprit in the Fourth's attack.' How come I haven't heard this side of the story?"

"We have records for that." Shikaku said. "Records of the fourth's death and records of Kagari Uchiha's death in tandem with this person. He also killed the Third's wife, several medics and several ANBU. Kagari Uchiha's son, Shisui is a sole living witness to this individual's abilities. He is away from the village right now."

Tsunade scanned the rest of the letter. It wasn't written well, because it was written in a hurry.

"And sightings with this organization?"

"In theory," he says. "Shisui was approached by one of them—an _invitation,_ I suppose. Their goal is peace and the disarmament of the Shinobi villages, they say."

"Did he accept?" she asked. "Or did he at least try to capture the messenger?"

"The messenger was a clone." Tsunade tutted. "And since his refusal, he's never been visited again."

"You said that their goal is peace and the disarmament of the Shinobi villages?"

"So, they say. This is also classified information which we have not divulged the village with, but Fugaku believes that the Mangekyo can control the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi attack took out a significant amount of our force and the Fourth. His motives line up _?_ _Iwa is also accused of using the Akatsuki._ "

"Well that sounds like a fun question at the Kage's summit."

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She met Naruto by the Naka river bank, where they both dipped their toes in icy water and chatted. The sun bathed their arms. It was mostly Naruto talking beside her about this and that. She listened quietly as he emphasized theatrics with exaggerated expressions. The cicadas chirped in the background to punctuated his 'ttebayos' and 'you listening, Sakura-chan?'

Then she caught the tail end of what he was saying.

"Y-you're leaving?" Sakura squealed.

"Yeah Sakura-chan! Ero-sannin told me that he would teach me new techniques!" He slid his thumb underneath his headband. "I'll be back in no time and then we can practice together! And then go on a ramen date!"

"No time?"

"Like—" Naruto squinted at the water flowing over the rocks. "—two years."

"Two years is a long time, Naruto."

Itachi's words rang inside Sakura's head, beat through her veins as she clenched her sides. _They'll leave you behind._

"Jiraiya agreed to teach you?" she asked softly. Naruto's chest caught with a sudden pride. He grinned and nodded vigorously.

"Yep! I really surprised him when I summoned the big old man toad to fight Gaara!" Her eyes widened. Naruto had really come far.

"Wow Naruto, you are going to become very strong!"

The boy rubbed this nose and grinned. "Hehhee…You are going to be _very_ strong too, Sakura!"

She lifted her uncertain eyes to him.

"You really think so?"

"I know so! Kakashi-sensei said that you had the _best_ chakra control out of all of us, right?"

She nodded mutely.

"That has to count for something, doesn't it?" Naruto said. He grinned at her. She smiled back distantly. For what? She thought. Maybe she could just quit the shinobi for—

Wait, it does count for some thing!

"Yeah…" she whispered. "Genjutsu, the _finest_ of genjutsus. One of the village's experts on genjutsu—Shisui Uchiha was said to have very good genjutsu, aided by his chakra control! He's not in the village or I'd ask him for pointers…but it also counts for healing ninjutsu."

"Healing?" Naruto widened his eyes. "You can really do that?"

"Yeah! You need good chakra control to heal," Sakura told him with a determined nod. "Geez, Naruto, Iruka-sensei talked–"

Interrupting her excitedly, Naruto blurted out, "Hey hey?! Granny Tsunade is a great healer!"

Sakura went very still.

"She's the _best_ healer ever! That's why Sasuke-teme woke up!"

"Tsunade?" she croaked. "Tsunade Senju? She's the..."

"Yeah!" Naruto said. "Ero-saanin said that she was also the best poisons specialist or something. I don't know, I wasn't really listening. Oh yeah, I didn't tell you, did I? They are making her Hokage tommorow!"

The decision that twelve-year-old Sakura made that day, changed her life forever, both for good and bad. It would also change the course of Konoha's future.

She looked up at Naruto with a rare fire in her eyes.

"Naruto, I want to get really strong," she said.

"We're _both_ gonna get really strong!"

They grinned at each other for a few moments.

"Can I still have that date?"

"No."

"Awhh Sakura-ch _aaa_ nn!"

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"So, keeping him out of the village, on the road, training with Jiraiya, keeps him out of my hair." Tsunade mused, twirling the ends of her hair. "Good. At least unless he's strong enough to handle himself. One less headache. Putting the Akatsuki aside, we have the issue of Danzo." She leaned forward. "I'm not about to have _attempted_ assassinations on my life. What do you propose I do?"

Shikaku stroked his goatee.

"I've been thinking, Hokage-sama…of a double agent."

"An agent?" Tsunade raised a brow.

"Obviously one he can trust. A person with excellent potential. Danzo likes malleable and desirable shinobi."

"And what exactly is considered, 'desirable?'" Tsunade asked.

"Typically people with kekkai genkai. Most people with talent, you have known several of these candidates. Kakashi Hatake. The boy who was found in Orochimaru's experiments, Tenzou, who had your grandfather's moukuton. Yakushi Kabuto for his excellent medical prowess. Kekkai Genkais lessen error. Geniuses lessen error. Medical shinobi also lesson error."

"Do we have potential candidates?"

"My son," Shikaku said. "But he is a lazy boy. He might have genius, but our esteemed ROOT commander prefers _obedience_ _._ "

"Anyone else?"

"Hyuuga Neji. But he is a noble-clan member. He poses a lot of complication. The same goes for any of the Uchiha. The key thing is that they have to be young. Young enough to be malleable."

"Non-clan members then. Youth is important."

Shikaku winced as if he remembered something.

"Tenten, a civilian on Maito Gai's team. She is excellent with weapons…" Shikaku trailed off. "But he has plenty of special weapon _–users..._ "

That's when there was a knock on the door. Tsunade looked to Shikaku silently asking him if they had an appointment. He shook his head.

"Who is it?" she barked.

The door clicked open. A timid looking girl with pink hair and green eyes peeked in.

"What do you want?" Tsunade snapped.

"I have a request for you Hokage-sama," the girl whimpered.

"Enter. Shut the door. Straighten up." Tsunade put down the letter. Shikaku stood aside.

And the girl did as she was told. She stood in the midst of the office with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Are you afraid of me girl?" Tsunade asked.

"No Ma'am." Her voice trembled lightly.

"Then speak. What is it you wanted?"

"My name is Haruno Sakura," Sakura breathed out. "I would like to be your apprentice."

Silence.

The office filled with laughter. Tsunade's laughter. Shikaku shifted his foot to give the girl a side-eye.

"You?" Tsunade wheezed. "Haruno Sakura, was it? Whose team were you on?"

"Kakashi Hatake," Sakura said.

"Hmm…" Tsunade leaned on her palm. "Oh? Team seven? Along with the Uchiha brat and Minato's son? Didn't see you on their cell."

Minato's son? Sakura thought, distracted. Minato Namikaze? The fourth's son?

Shikaku gave Tsunade a look as if to scream ' _classified_.' Tsunade ignored it.

"And let me guess, Kakashi Hatake ignored you for the other two. Both of who had more potential. Sakura Haruno, what skills do you bring to the table? But it didn't matter. You thought a woman's obligatory position was in the wake of men, to stand behind simply because of some assumed genetic propriety. Then when you are placed in a position where you were cornered like an animal, you realized how _incompetent_ you really are."

 _Naruto was particularly exceptional with his clone usage. Sasuke had tremendous amount of skill for an Uchiha. I didn't hear about Sakura until a minute prior._

Itachi's words replayed like a broken tape-recorder in Sakura's mind. The tape rolls like the disgust in his words.

Tsunade's words cut through the stench of dying childhood dreams—like marrying Sasuke-kun, being happy, buying a home, and having an older son and two daughters and with a white picket fence. Sasuke-kun liked this. Sasuke-kun liked that. He liked girls a certain way.

These rumors about Sasuke-kun, which were passed around in the halls of the Academy, fueled her fantasies.

It would have been Sasuke-kun and her against the world.

She always thought she would have it figured out. She was a smart girl who got good grades, and she would _make_ him like her.

She felt like a vulnerable child. A vulnerable, clumsy, girl-child playing kunoichi in this big world of shinobi-men. But in front of her was a woman. A woman who could sit in a seat which was upholstered for a man because she worked for it.

Grit your teeth, Sakura. You'll succeed too.

Shikaku folded his arms in the background. His eyes raked over pictures of dead brothers and dead lovers that were propped on the shelves near large books of Medical Ninjutsu and chakra theory. Tsunade leaned forward on her desk, and looked at her, really looked at her.

"Do you blame Hatake for your inadequacy?"

Sakura didn't nod her head. She just stared back at the woman.

"I don't blame Kakashi-sensei...Sasuke-kun had more...potential," she choked out. "I..."

"Blame yourself?"

"Yes..." Sakura murmured very honestly. "Because I didn't show my potential." She'd only been watching Sasuke. But she wasn't about to announce that, not now and not ever. She was only twelve. She still couldn't make sense of her feelings.

Tsunade gave her an appraising glance.

"Seems like we are getting somewhere. No one is responsible for your greatness, but yourself. So why do you want to be my apprentice? What do you have to offer?"

"Excellent chakra-control." Sakura said immediately. "I managed to get tree-climbing on the first—"

"That's not what I meant. You look like a weak thing. Your physical traits don't buy me. I want heart. What do you have to offer Sakura Haruno?"

Itachi's voice replayed.

 _And I assure you, the Hokage will be advised of your incompetency simply because you will endanger someone._

She closed her eyes.

 _Fuck_ that.

"I _want_ this position. I _won't_ be left behind. I will make something out of _Haruno_ Sakura," she said. A wisp of a snarl, a kiss of determination, a quake of stubborn earth.

Tsunade raised her brow. Shikaku shifted his weight from one foot to the other, intrigued.

"I will come back today. And tomorrow, and the day after, and every single day of your life—till you _accept_ me as your apprentice," Sakura continued. "Because I _wont_ — _"_ she paused, spitting out the word with fire. "—be left behind!"

She stopped, breathing in and out quickly. Tsunade blinked slowly. Her look was calculating.

"What will you do if I _break_ you?"

"I'll get stronger," Sakura bit out, fiercely. "I will not cry."

"And if you cry?"

"I'll wipe those tears away," Sakura continued.

Tsunade leaned back against the chair. The girl was fuming. Her palms were clenched white, where her green, pert nails dug into the flesh of her palm.

"What are you willing to give up for this? Everything?"

"Everything."

Shikaku shared a knowing look with the Hokage, before he closed his eyes. He dug his hands into his pockets.

"Well then, I'll accept you on one more condition."

"Haruno-san. Listen carefully to what you are accepting," Shikaku said.

"I have a big village to run," Tsunade said. "I have _work_ and people to deal with. As my student, you will be within my inner circle. You will also be part of a group of people who will work to keep me safe. I will teach you on one condition."

Sakura straightened.

"You will be placed in a tangle of lies and deception because of me. What will you say when someone asks you, 'Are you loyal to Tsunade Senju?'"

Sakura thought on it for a few seconds.

Kakashi, despite his negligence, taught his students to look _underneath_ the _underneath_. What was underneath his mask? What was was underneath the crinkle of his smile? Why did shinobi speak in riddles? What did Tsunade say? What did she not say?

Being a shinobi about your loyalty, Kakashi would say. Sometimes you had to lie to protect the truth. Sometimes you had to compromise yourself for the sake of your loyalties. Maybe, that's not what this story is about.

 _Tangle of lies and deception?_

So, Sakura said, "I'm not loyal to Tsunade Senju."

The room was silent. Blood pounded in her ears. Her fingers felt clammy. Tsunade's face was stony. She shifted her eyes to Shikaku. Shikaku was silent. He didn't say a word. He looked back at the Godaime and nodded.

Had she given the wrong answer?

Tsunade's deep red lips peeled back into a feral, stomach twisting, heart-wrenching grin. Feral like a predator who caught her prey with her sharp teeth.

"We have our double-agent in training, Nara."


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing.**

Atrophy

Chapter 2

a/n: edited 13 June, 2017

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Cold, icky dread crawled up from her guts to the surface of her skin into thousands of little, tiny goosebumps at the sight of the Godaime's face.

What had she gotten herself into?

"P-pardon? A double-agent?" she croaked. "What do you mean by double-agent?"

"You said you would give up _anything_ to become my apprentice."

"Yeah but anything? I thought you just said I was _incompetent_ as a shinobi."

"I never said you were incompetent," Tsunade stated. "You've been a blithering idiot. Not 'incompetent.'"

Tsunade was right, and Tsunade didn't say it. Itachi did. But what difference did it make? She clenched her fists.

Sakura Haruno would prove them all wrong.

"Haruno-san," Shikaku began softly, and she glanced at him. "Let me put it this way. The Godaime and I will obviously guide you into your role as a double-agent. You wanted to be Tsunade Senju's apprentice, did you not?"

Sakura nodded, albeit very bewildered.

"Then you have a huge target on your back," Shikaku said. "The Godaime is a political figure as per her assets and skills to Konoha. She is scrutinized because her position. Her ties will also be scrutinized. Really, this is beneficial for you. So─" He brought a finger to his lips.

This apprenticeship was going to be all hush-hush because their village was small, and gossip travelled far and quick. There would be too much controversy surrounding her, her political motives and her behavior.

"Put it straight," Tsunade said. "You were too young to remember this, but your parents signed an agreement with the village. Your life for the village. It's the same thing, Sakura. Only this time you can't run around telling every family member or friend who you worked for, what you did and who you are."

"You will be taken off the shinobi program and put into the hospital as a nondescript medic. Your schedule will be manageable. It would be foolish of me to neglect my student's health for this task."

She could do that.

"You will train with me, extensively. Shikaku will integrate you, correct Nara?"

Shikaku Nara nodded his head.

"Yes. Your target is Shimura Danzo, one of the elders who runs the ROOT foundation. In the past, ROOT has attempted several assassination attempts on prior Hokages. They were suspected of high treason. You will infiltrate ROOT."

Sakura nodded.

"But here's the problem. You are an _insect_ in Danzo's eyes." Tsunade chuckled.

Sakura blinked. Well…she didn't need to know─

"And that's not a bad thing," Shikaku said kindly. "Being underestimated is important for you to infiltrate ROOT. He would like a malleable target, and you aren't the first person who lacks qualifications to enter ANBU or ROOT. You're still a genin. But posing as Tsunade's apprentice proves handy for you. Danzo entertains powerful candidates."

"A spider," Tsunade mused. "A poisonous spider valued for the bite. The venom. I will teach you poisons of the highest calibre, and antidotes which your enemies will beg you for. Medical ninjutsu which will save a comrade's life. I will make your bite _worthy_ of Shimura Danzou's attention."

Sakura nodded again.

"When I'm done with you, Sakura," Tsunade's lip curled. "You will weave my web. My sticky trap. But a slip up means death. Do you want to die?"

Sakura shook her head. Tsunade smiled.

"Then work hard, my little spider."

And for the second time that day, Sakura wondered what exactly she'd gotten into.

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Later that evening, the coronation was held. The elders made Lady Tsunade the fifth Hokage. She waved her hat and the crowd cheered. She cleared her throat, and her voice boomed over the audience.

During her speech, Sakura glanced twenty people to the right and caught Kakashi-sensei. He leaned against the tree, and talked to Ino's jounin-sensei. Two rows of heads down, she saw Naruto and Sasuke near the front. Shikamaru was three heads to the left. Shikaku flanked his son on the other end.

Sakura then realized that there were _so_ many people watching the Hokage right now.

"May the fires of Konoha run deep in your veins. May it be strengthened by the bonds of Konoha's collective spirit," Tsunade said. The crowd's cheers rose.

Sakura gazed up at the balcony where Lady Tsunade waved at the crowd and gave her speech.

Sakura glanced over the Hokage's shoulder and at Shimura Danzo.

"For Konoha!"

And then she glanced over his shoulder at the Hokage monument, and exhaled before joining the cheers. There were four heads and soon there would be five. Sakura imagined a sixth head, and a seventh. Who would be the seventh? Who would be the sixth?

How many more years till someone obliterated Konoha off the map?

Sakura felt older that day, different from the girl who was yesterday. It could have been true that she too—despite whatever she thought herself to be—played a significant part in Leaf's future.

So Sakura straightened her back and cheered.

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It had been two days since she became Tsunade's apprentice.

Sakura told her mother that she was going to work at the hospital. She quit being a kunoichi. Mebuki didn't understand, but she was glad she was out of that line of _business_ of killing and hacking.

"Medic work is better for women," Mebuki said. "I don't mind." Healing hands, care-taker work—Mebuki babbled about how her Aunt was a nurse in the hospital at the border.

Sakura fell into routine. Tsunade made her go through the basics, like all medics, to understand and practice basic theory. She sat in classrooms with several other eager new medics. It was a twelve-part session which was followed by a difficult exam.

Tsunade's apprentice, Shizune had taken charge of the class. Their first lesson was basic anatomy.

Sakura liked Shizune-senpai. She was soft-spoken and professional when it came to her work.

"Welcome," she began. "I would like to highlight a set of rules that Tsunade-sama and I have outlined for new medics…"

Soft-spoken like a lullaby. Half-way between "make sure your uniform is on at all times and no heels in the surgery room," Sakura heard a snore behind her.

Shizune lifted the edge of a container behind the desk, and she pulled out a live fish. It flapped and slithered in Shizune's hand. Several people flinched, but Shizune spoke calmly.

"Most medic-nins don't use utensils to surgically cut through things. Chakra-scalpels are more effective for the cause. They cut clean and are safe from bacteria or poisoning. They eliminate error."

She cut through the opening of the fish. It stopped moving. Someone winced beside Sakura. "You know, I would also like to emphasize the importance on the difference between working on a fish and a human. You can perform a beautiful surgery, and they'd both end up dead. One has more repercussions than the other. That's why we work fast. Fast. You need to be able to detect ailments and attempt counter-measures without batting an eyelash."

"Fish organs resembles human organs." She peeled the fish's skin off with a tight, loud rasp. She then cut open the sides of the fish, and blood spilled on the surface. It flowed over her fingers and stained the steel surface.

Sakura pictured a bloody Sasuke in her arms shortly after his battle with Zabuza

Shizune pushed up the flap of muscle.

Shizune then began pointing to different parts of the fish's body. For a second, Sakura imagined Zabuza Momochi pointing at several parts of the fish and saying—

"Liver. Lungs." Shizune said, pointing to the parts. "You will be practicing as a class on how to target certain muscles and use your chakra to feel people's insides."

Her fingers bled into green.

"Medical Ninjutsu like the Mystic Palm technique will improve the body's natural healing regeneration. We will learn more of that after we master basic anatomy…"

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Naruto met Sakura a week later. She was tired, and her eyes were itchy from reading the medical books over and over again. He mistook the look on her face for Tsunade's refusal.

" _What?"_

"But I got offered a place at the hospital!" Sakura said. That appeased his squawks of protest and of "gonna beat up the granny!"

"Oh, that's great─" Naruto paused. "Wait, that means you won't be able to go on missions anymore?"

Those days were over? Fighting S-class criminals like Zabuza Momochi and Haku to painting fences for old ladies to camping together underneath the stars with Kakashi-sensei hogging their only blanket.

(They found the blanket covering them the next morning and Kakashi off to god-knows-where, not that Naruto would admit it.)

"It's not all that bad." Sakura laughed. "It's a lot of work but it won't be too bad."

She'd been so nice to him lately. He nodded his head fervently.

"Can I still see you whenever I get back? Can we write to each other?"

"Sure." Sakura said. "Anytime, I guess? Naruto, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you heal so fast?"

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" He laughed nervously.

Later, while they sparred, Naruto wondered if it was his imagination or if Sakura's hair-bun glistened with something metallic. He was so caught on the light. When she moved faster, and drew blood from his cheek.

But it was a no-weapons spar. How did she─

"Ah!" she said. "Sorry, my nails are sharp." Oh! So that was it.

"That's fine, Sakura-chan. It's a spar after all, ne? Don't worry about me!" He held up a thumbs up.

"Mhhm…" she said and watched his cheek with eerily sharp eyes. "It's not a deep cut, Naruto."

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Naruto felt uneasy. What if Sakura-chan had figured out his secret? Would that mean she would not want to hang out with him anymore? So, he thought it would have been nice to invite her for ramen, because everyone was throwing a party and no one wanted to invite her.

"Maaah Naruto," Kiba groaned. "Where are we going?"

"To Sakura-chan's house," he said. "I'm going to ask her to come out with us for ramen!"

"And what if she doesn't want to come, hmmm?" Kiba retorted. Shikamaru sighed. Shino said nothing. They followed him down the civilian district. "That means you're going to invite Ino as well?"

"If she comes, Ino won't," Shikamaru said.

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In the Konoha marketplace, there were several simultaneous actions.

A child played with her ball whilst her mother bargained for the price of tomatoes. The vendor cleared the path and a boy pushed cart of fresh vegetables.

The crowd of housewives and chattering civilian noticed the fresh produce of tomatoes and rushed to the stand to get their fill.

The child bounced the ball once, twice and three times. The ball flew from her control away, and the child scampered after it.

One of the women, who was carrying a heavy cloth bag, hit the ball. It flew.

The child scurried after it.

It was right in the way of the cart. And the boy behind the cart didn't notice the child, the mother (who's face was narrowed in irritation at the stubborn vendor) didn't notice her child, and the vendor's assistant noticed the child. She was seconds away.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Watch out!"

The boy jerked in surprise. The cart of cabbages fell. Then the tomatoes. Then the onions.

The child, still eyes only for the ball, was swooped up and pulled away from the tumbling produce.

The bustling market-place froze. Sakura heaved a sigh of relief.

"That was close," she said. She then smiled at the little girl who looked so surprised, almost on the verge of tears. "Be careful next time, okay."

"Thank you, Onee-san!"

The vendor's assistant heaved a sigh of relief, and he turned to look at the young genin. The boy behind the cart looked at the child with pronounced bewilderment.

"Thank you, Sakura."

"No problem." Sakura grinned as the little girl scurried towards her mother, with her ball in tow. Her mother scolded her child and pulled at her ear. She sent Sakura an apologetic smile.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan!"

"No problem." Sakura waved. "That's a discount on my tab, uncle!"

The vendor grunted as he waved her away, and Sakura pranced away. Tsunade's words were still ringing in her head, feeling suddenly self-conscious.

" _Medical shinobi are often the most targeted member of a squad. You may be tending to someone's life-threatening wounds when an enemy has a kunai to your back. And that would be two causalities. Your life and your vulnerable patient's."_

Sakura kept her eyes on her surroundings. Someone brushed past her. She looked over her shoulder at the man. She kept her fingers hovering over her weapon pouch.

Was it just her imagination?

This was a civilian area. But she felt uneasy. Like she was being watched. Like someone was getting ready to strike. She spun around, fist clenched around the kunai, darting forward with a speed fueled by her paranoia.

"Yaaah!"

"S-Sakura-chan it's me!"

She stilled.

He held his hands up with a wary look at her sharp kunai aimed at his throat.

"It's just me!" The boy said.

"Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan, you are _really_ scary!"

"Shut up Naruto!" Sakura put away her kunai. "You just scared me…that's all…"

Naruto being Naruto grinned at her. She then caught sight of three other people behind him, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzaka and Shikamaru Nara. Sakura never liked any of them, especially Shikamaru. All he did was laze and get straight 100s while she worked herself silly to get good grades. Then there was Shino. She'd never talked to the boy but he seemed polite. She just hated his bugs.

Kiba pissed her off, much like Naruto used to. But as of lately, Sakura had been giving a lot of second-chances.

So she smiled, politely.

Kiba didn't really smile back, his lip curled into what could be called a cross between acknowledgement and a grimace. Shino's hands were in his pocket, ever silent, ever unresponsive and Shikamaru nodded her.

"…what are you guys up to?"

"We were just going to take Naruto out for ramen – seeing as he's leaving the village and all." Kiba said, twisting a finger up a nostril, much to her chagrin. _Boys,_ she thought.

"Would you like to join us?" Shino asked her, politely.

She was about to decline, politely, when she thought of that impending family meeting at home. It had been two days since her mother had told her that she would like to see her, and it had been two days since Sakura had evaded every attempt at the talk.

"Sure…" she said, uncertainly. "Is Sasuke-kun coming?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Nah. I don't know where the bastard is. Probably training or whatever."

"We could go to his house if you like, Haruno-san?" Shino asked her helpfully.

Sakura was about to decline, vehemently (she did not want to run into Itachi Uchiha or _any_ Uchiha for that matter because it might jolt their memory about reminding the Hokage about her) when Kiba whined.

"We were gonna get Chouji! His house is closer!"

"Sure," Sakura said hurriedly. "I'm sure Sasuke-kun is busy. Let's get Akimichi-san."

Shikamaru gave her a strange look.

"Okay," he said. "Then Hyuuga."

The first thing that Sakura noticed was that no one had to mention Ino. The second thing she noticed was the way Kiba looked, over his shoulder, at the roofs with a frown, and she thought he noticed her secret pursuer as well.

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 _Shisui,_

 _Things here are going well. Sasuke made chuunin. Your nephew is still as lively as ever. He takes after his mother quite a bit. The chuunin exams were eventful. Surely by now you would have heard about the Sandaime's death. In his place, Tsunade Senju has taken the seat._

 _As you and I understand, the clan is displeased about the Senju governance. His manner of thinking is old-fashioned, and the Godaime has no ill-intentions toward our clan. Quite the opposite, actually. But that's a story for a better time, when you return to Konoha._

 _As for my health. I assure you─Tsunade Senju said she would look into it. This would mean leaps and bounds for the relationship between the clan and the village. I will continue to keep you updated. Stay safe._

 _Itachi._

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"Itachi Uchiha is ill."

Shikaku looked up at the Godaime from the work he was reading.

Tsunade was leaning on her palm, scanning through hospital records over her abandoned paper-work. The Godaime scanned the contents of the filing, flipping pages and looking back and forth.

"Sorry Hokage-sama, but isn't this a violation of doctor-patient confidentiality?"

"It's supposed to shorten his life-span significantly. It works up from his lungs and affects his oxygen intake. And he needs quite a lot of oxygen up there. If it wasn't for his Uchiha genetics, the boy would be pushing up daisies. Poses a serious problem for the Uchiha clan given that he is one of the most promising Uchihas."

Shikaku took in the information.

"How do you think he came by this disease?" Shikaku asked.

"No one in his family possesses it." Tsunade said. "I gained their permission to look at the generational records. Unfortunately, Shizune is still sorting that mess in the hospital and we are missing several people in the family-line. They aren't very organized. This hospital. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the records were stolen based on how little my teacher cared for the hospital."

"It _could_ be genetic?" Shikaku asked.

"Genetic diseases are _difficult_ to pin-point. Maybe or maybe not. But here's the thing. Itachi Uchiha was born with _healthy_ lungs, and that's what Mikoto Uchiha claims."

Shikaku frowned. Tsunade closed his file. "I'd bring up issues of inbreeding, but that tends to open another can of worms."

"You realize why I'm talking to you about this, don't you Nara?" Tsunade yawned, and drooped in her seat. "Not all diseases are genetic. Not all of them are contracted by the environment, at least in our world. And as medical shinobi, we consider every possibility before we rule it out."

Shikaku Nara remembered the miasma of chemicals when he arrived on the scene of Orochimaru's laboratory, twelve years ago. He cradled a dying child to get help. Because he had a baby son at home. They pulled him away, and told him it was too dangerous.

He never forgot the Sandaime's look. The child died. Orochimaru always numbered his test subjects, and he was #24.

"And there are some excellent contagion experts out there."

"There is no reason to get Fugaku Uchiha riled up with suspicion. After all, they think medical shinobi like myself are magical when Sasuke Uchiha's coma was prolonged by a poor use of a drug by an idiot doctor," she said. "Poor use, indeed."

.

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For Sasuke, most things in life were either about his family, his shinobi career and his duties to the clan. His genin team came second place. But then the Chuunin exams happened and messed up the perfect hierarchy in his life when the _dobe_ (yes the _dobe)_ defeated Gaara.

Not him.

Naruto.

He reached for his collar.

"Don't touch it."

His arm fell to his side. Kakashi's lone eye traipsed sentence by sentence in his Icha Icha. It almost made it hard for Sasuke to believe that the man watched over him. Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets.

It had been a week and two days since he was awoken from a coma. And in a coma he was, for five days. That made it almost two weeks since the Chuunin exams.

Sasuke Uchiha was chuunin.

"Break time is over." Kakashi snapped his book close and startled him. "Let's begin."

Sasuke got into his stance. Kakashi's foot came crashing towards him. Sasuke held up his arms to block the fall. Kakashi's foot aimed to kick him back. Sasuke recovering, froze when he saw one blow.

And another.

"I was wrong in trying to teach you the _Chidori_."

But Naruto had learned the _Rasengan_.

Sasuke wasn't about to be out-done by the _dobe_. Not now, not ever. He charged at Kakashi. The Jounin dodged effortlessly. He caught Sasuke's fist with one hand. Kakashi put his book away with the other.

Sasuke's fingers crackled.

"Convince me that I'm wrong." Kakashi drawled as he let go. "Show me the pride of the Uchiha clan."

Sasuke moved back. He pulled out his sharp blade. His fingers crackled with electricity. He then heard Orochimaru's whispers in his ears. Orochimaru surrounded his team-mates who were lying on the ground beside him.

And over them was the Snake Saanin.

He turned to Naruto. He looked at Sakura. Sakura and Naruto were face-down in the mud. It was only him against Orochimaru who laughed.

 _No._ Naruto and Sakura were _weak._ Don't─ _those who treat their teammates like trash─_ don't give in! Naruto and Sakura…were…his teammates. Teammates…p─weak. Weak. Weak.

Silver hair lengthened and darkened, and the surface of his skin peeled off, and Kakashi's black eyes swirled in to liquid gold.

"Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru or Kakashi chuckled. "Your team-mates are dead. What do you do?"

Sasuke bit his lip. He brought his arms up to dispel the illusion. His eyes were bleeding red, and searing pain shot through his body.

"Do you want to get strong, Sasuke?" _I can make you strong_. _There is nothing for you in Konoha_. _All of them are weak._

There was his family. His brother. His mother. His father. Kakashi…his teammates…

 _All of who won't be able to satiate your thirst for power. You were born for greatness._

Gesturing toward the corpses of his dead team-mates, Orochimaru said, "Do you ever want this to happen to your precious people?"

His skin was searing. Then he tasted dirt and the _thud_ of the earth pounding his chin. The illusion cleared. His hands were bound behind his back and Kakashi had them locked together by the fists. He was face down on the ground.

"…stay. The seal has come undone."

All Sasuke could feel was bitter, feral and blinding rage. Some sense of his rational brain believed that his team-mates were alive.

 _But_ it was _because the_ _dobe_ who saved them both, not him. He was an _Uchiha_. He was expected to out-perform.

His broke loose. He socked Kakashi in the jaw. The sharp stab of pain caused the Jounin to lose hold of Sasuke's arms. It was followed up by a swift kick to his side. Kakashi blocked it and winced.

"You're a hundred years too early if you think you can defeat me, Sasuke."

His eyes bled red as he performed another illusion on the boy.

And Sasuke's skin was marred by branching entrails of an unholy seal. Kakashi knocked him out with a swift cut to the back of his neck. The boy slumped into his outstretched arm.

"I guess that's it for today's attempt to get this seal under control." Anko said.

She walked through the training ground, on one hand she held a plate of dango and in the other, she cleaned the skewer, chewing obnoxiously.

"Mitarashi, what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked her.

"Uchiha maintenance," Anko said through a mouthful. "Also, Hatake, the Hokage would like to see you. I'll get the pip-squeak home."

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After getting Hinata and Chouji, having ramen was less awkward with other teams with Naruto around. Naruto was good at being the life of the party. He was currently arguing with Kiba.

"I can beat you any day, Naruto-stupid! Don't be so high and mighty just cuz you got a pervy guy to give you special training! Wait till you get back, I'll kick your ass."

"Yaah! We'll see, Kiba! We'll see who's bitching after that!"

"You want to go?!"

It was very lively, Sakura thought dryly.

But Sakura found herself oddly alone.

There was no Ino to fight with. There was no Sasuke-kun around. There was just Sakura.

They all had a team-dynamic that she didn't share with team-seven. She was so _envious_ of that dynamic, and that bond which was forged by missions. It was then that Sakura came to the sour realization about Team Seven's _bond. She_ was always trailing behind Sasuke. She was always berating Naruto for being stupid.

The boy wasn't stupid. He was just…creative.

 _She was always the weak-point_.

She bit her tongue on accident, nearly spitting out her mouthful.

"You alright?" someone asked her.

It was Shikamaru. Chouji slurped his noodles. Both members of Team Ten barely commented on the conversation. The others were far too loud for them anyways.

It was a big table. Naruto was seated on the other end. He looked flushed and happy.

"Yeah." Sakura breathed. "They are really noisy, aren't they?"

Shikamaru shrugged. Sakura rolled her eyes. She knew she shouldn't have gotten into a conversation with the laziest bum in the whole world.

"I wish Ino was here," she muttered. "At least blondie would give me a fight."

"Thank goodness she isn't," Shikamaru said.

Shino shared his food with Hinata. If she could just _turn_ back time a few months, would Team Seven have a better dynamic that it had right now?

Naruto and Sasuke would be alright. They would find better teammates and be alright.

Naruto then yelled. Sakura jumped. "Yaaah Kiba you asshole! Don't make me stick this up ya─"

"How does Naruto have so much energy?" She breathed and watched them argue once again.

Shikamaru seemed be thinking of something else, "He's always been special, hasn't he?"

Sakura blinked. "Special?"

"You mean to say you've never noticed? He has had the most energy out of all of us, even if he lived off ramen and canned foods."

Sakura never noticed this. She began again, slowly. "What?"

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. His teammate?" Shikamaru said.

Her mind was already working through Naruto's routine. It could just mean that he had a quick metabolism rate. But then again, he was an orphan, he didn't take his daily intake of nutrients like normal kids. Shikamaru was right.

He had a _lot_ of energy, nevertheless.

"Have you been watching his matches during the chuunin exam?" Chouji piped in. "The guy had this _red_ chakra when Hyuuga pissed him off."

Shikamaru and Chouji lost interest in the discussion. Someone asked Chouji a question and Chouji responded. Sakura wasn't really listening. She was watching Naruto guzzle his food down.

Shikamaru asked her, for the second time, "Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah," Sakura smiled again, politely. Not a hair out of place. "Why do you say that?"

"Ino gets really silent as well when something is bothering her, sort of a blessi–"

"Stop comparing me to Ino." Sakura said. "I'm not Ino. I'm Sakura."

"I wasn't comparing the two of you," Shikamaru said, suddenly feeling prickly. "Both of you are bloody troublesome." And he paused. "And all of you _women_ are the same."

"I still don't get it," Sakura said blithely. "What does any of this have to do with Ino? Why do you even care about Ino?"

"She's my teammate," Shikamaru scoffed. And then quieter, "You're the reason she didn't make chuunin."

"I'm the reason?"

"She held back. You know it. She worked hard for it, Sakura."

"This is Ino's fight," Sakura replied. "Not yours. She's not here, though is she? You all probably thought that oh since Sakura's here—Ino won't come along. You should have brought her here instead of me."

"You shouldn't have come if you couldn't get along with anyone here," he said.

She opened her mouth to cut him off, then shut it, because.

"Leave me alone, alright?" she snapped. She then realized that everyone else was watching. Then she realized that she was a little too loud given the silence that followed.

"That's the Sakura I know." Kiba scoffed. "I was getting sick of your _sugary_ act."

Sakura turned on the Inuzaka.

"It's called being _civil_. Not that you would know anything about it." She bit back. Kiba snarled.

"Why _you—_ "

"Sakura-chan?" He was interrupted by Naruto, who had spoken so low that it reverberated through their conversation.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked her. "Did you really not want to come?"

Naruto looked confused. He looked sad that his team-mate wasn't enjoying this dinner as much as he was. Sakura didn't want to ruin that for him. She felt like she _didn't_ belong in this, this happy gathering where everyone was nice to her for Naruto's sake.

Sorry, she thought. Sorry, Naruto.

"I need to get home." She smiled.

"She's got a stomach-ache." Chouji piped in, helpfully. "Ramen is not agreeable with her."

Sakura's smile remained plastered, thickly, like the glob of paste on the table surface. Her fists clenched and unclenched.

"Right, I'll see you around then," she continued.

She pushed her nearly untouched bowl of ramen towards Naruto. "You can finish that."

And before they could say a word, she left, out the shop and out into the deep crimson dyed streets. The sun was setting. The street lights were glowing eerily as people passed her by. Someone sent her an odd look. She ignored it.

That's when she felt that, inexplicable feeling of being _watched._

For a second, Sakura wanted to return to the safety of the shop.

Another part of her was too embarrassed to walk back into the shop, back into the faux security of her peers. Twelve-year-old Sakura felt a burst of confidence from her gut and a rumbling thought of ' _Chaaa! They think they can take us. Let's show them!'_

So she steeled herself, walking through the streets in utter silence, blending between evening crowds. The evening breeze kissed the goosebumps on her arms and the tingle on the back of her neck.

Her pursuer kept up.

She had to move away from the crowds. There were a lot of eyes. Lots of faces. Too many. So she filtered through a narrow street.

The narrow street was deserted, except for a sleeping dog and an Uchiha Police force member who leapt from roof to roof.

Sakura considered flagging him down. But then she thought, he could have been _Itachi_. He would probably laugh at her and say she was being paranoid.

Just when she was going to put away these unnerving thoughts and walk away─

The stray dog stirred and then began to bark.

The back of her neck prickled. Because she was being watched. Because someone was getting ready to strike.

She whipped around and flew at him. He blocked her blow. Her kunai flew and wedged itself.

"Yo! Calm down will ya!"

She balked at the sight of one of the famous sages, Jiraiya.

"Easy there. I may be the biggest pervert in all of the five nations, or whatever else they are calling me these days, but I don't take advantage of young maidens."

Sakura blinked. This person was going to be Naruto's teacher for the next three years.

"Okay," she said and ripped her kunai out of the ground. "How do I know you aren't a henge of some creeper following me home."

"Hmmm." Jiraiya tapped his chin. "Because anyone framing me has a death-wish."

She raised her eyebrows at him. His cheeks turned pink.

"I have a group of angry women after me." He grinned cheekily. Sakura stiffened.

Then she remembered those sunny days of practices, of Kakashi reading his erotic literature and giggling merrily as his cute little genin slogged in the sun. Oh _my G_ awd. Light bulbs went off.

"Y-you write horrible literature! I heard you peeping on the women's baths!" she yelped. "And you are going to be Naruto's teacher!"

"All of which is rated eighteen plus and up, child. None of which you are allowed to read." He continued. "And I assure you, while I don't look like much. I am much. But that aside, did you know you were being followed?"

Sakura dug her fingers back into her kunai pouch.

"Of course, I did!" she said. "I'm not helpless. I was going to fight him!"

"In this empty alley-way?" Jiraiya gestured at his surroundings. The dog barked at him. He waved at the mutt cheerfully. "Sure, does seem like a smart idea. If you are evenly matched. But you're just a little brat."

"It's not very smart." Sakura's cheeks reddened considerably. "But it's not stupid either. It would be away from civilians. Anyway, w-w-what are you d-doing here?"

He tousled her fringe. She scowled with the fury of a cat ready to scratch his eyes out.

"It would have been rude of me not to help out a member of the new Team Seven. After all, you do inherit our tragic legacy."

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.

"Good to see you again, Kakashi. How have you been?" Tsunade was resting her head her loose fist.

"Here, there and a bit of everywhere."

"I'd ask you why you were three hours late for your appointment, but I'm not really in the mood to listen to your flagrant bullshit."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and sent her a crinkly-eyed grin. The Godaime didn't look amused.

"I called you here to sign papers. Sakura Haruno is no longer your student."

His grin fell.

"Do not worry about her," the Godaime's eyes were sharp. "I heard the Uchiha clan approached you to train their son. I suppose I should congratulate you on making an excellent impression on one student, even though you did ignore two students."

 _Thinly veiled, Godaime-sama._

"With all due respect," Kakashi began. "With the Sandaime breathing down on my neck to _make_ Sasuke a worthy candidate for the chuunin exams, to exhibit Konoha's potential nonetheless and your teammate well… It would have been careless of me not to divulge my attention to Sasuke. Jiraiya looked after Minato's son. And Sakura, well, Sakura didn't qualify for the second round of chuunin exams."

The Godaime was silent for a second, and then she spoke.

"Sakura's a smart girl. She can figure out the difference between herself and her team-mates and why they take priorities. It doesn't mean it wouldn't eventually affect her, like Rin."

"I don't understand." Kakashi breathed, ragged and angry.

"Reign your temper in, boy. I merely said that your neglect put Sakura in immense danger. But the same applies to Rin, didn't it? If she had not been captured, Obito wouldn't have died. If Minato considered teaching her how to break out of an arm-hold."

"Rin was not weak," Kakashi bit out. "We were chuunin and it was a war, promoted ahead of our time..." But that was not the point. "But Hokage-sama, _you_ rejected Rin's offer to become your apprentice. You left the village when those skills could have helped the next generation."

Tsunade stopped thrumming her fingers.

Kakashi averted his eyes.

"Didn't mean reopen those wounds. I'm sorry, I too shouldn't have brought up Rin."

He looked back at her.

She had her fingers clenched around a pen and a paper, slid around for him. He took the pen and scanned over the contents.

He signed it with one loopy scrawl. He handed her the pen.

"My sensei romanticized this system of the three-man cell. But there's only one teacher and three students," she continued.

It wasn't inherently fair either. After all, it was either him or Obito and the rocks. Rin was sent ahead, losing them one second. The rocks were falling steadily but they had no time. There was a tunnel of light, and a hair's breath of survival from those crushing boulders.

One of the entire three-man cell would have to be left behind.

Only one of them would have made it out of that cave alive.

And it was him, with survivor's guilt and a baggy, stressed out Sharingan eye to prove it.

"But, it's not so much a matter of _team_ -work it's a matter of individual strengths brought together to make one, unified team."

Kakashi didn't say a word. She continued.

"What made the Saanin special was an understanding of each one's strengths, not some illusory bond laced in the words 'Team Seven.'" She said, putting quote marks to emphasize the words "Team Seven is a banner, a title, a name. The _will of fire_ is what defines Team Seven."

And he remembered the camp-fires, back during days of Obito's antics and Rin's laughter and Minato-sensei's arms circling around their backs when they didn't have a blanket to share. Kakashi wanted to shove his elbow at Obito's belly because dead-last was _too_ close.

And he remembered Minato-sensei say, "And the will of fire is the bond forged between every member of the Hidden Leaf. A desire to help each other."

"Take this as a warning, Hatake. You cannot be a good Jounin-sensei if you don't keep the _entire_ team, their strengths, their weaknesses and their capabilities into question. They work as a _single unit_. If one part of the squadron doesn't function—" She snapped her pen. "—they will all be dragged down."

"I will talk to Sakura. Just to clear up some bad air," he said earnestly. Minato-sensei would be so disappointed in him. Rin would be so disappointed in him.

"You can talk to her. But she withdrew from the shinobi program. She's working at the hospital."

Kakashi breathed.

" _What_?"

"Not a bad deal, decent hours, plenty of work, and plenty of pay. It's her business," Tsunade said. Kakashi blinked.

Things were moving a bit too fast, wasn't it?

Tsunade clapped her hand on the desk and startled him again.

"Speaking of teams! I need you to tell me of your time in ROOT and your attempted assassination on my teacher."

Kakashi's blood ran cold.

Tsunade grinned.

.

.

.

Jiraiya was amused. The girl kept a wide berth of space between them. She glared at him, every so often and muttered, 'pervert'.

"Really," He grinned. "So _rude_ to your savior. Even after I had the courtesy of _walking_ you home."

He was reminded of a younger Tsunade and the thought brought some more amusement. Then she broke the silence.

"Hey," Sakura called out. "I have a question to ask you."

"What? So rude, no respect either─"

"You were the Fourth's teacher, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Jiraiya replied. Minato brought a pang of numbness to his hardened heart and all he felt was a sense of emptiness for the boy's demise. His best and brightest student.

Naruto is slowly taking that spot, Jiraiya thought. Unfortunately, the brat still had leaps and bounds to go.

Sakura asked, carefully. "Why did you decide to take Naruto on as a student?"

Did she underestimate Naruto?

"Why does it matter? The boy has potential even if he is a bloody idiot."

The boy was also his godson, but she didn't need to know that. The girl was silent for a few seconds.

Then she started up again, with another question, unrelated to her prior ones.

"Jiraiya-san," She said slowly. "The demon fox which the fourth 'killed.' It's not really dead is it? They said it had the energy of a thousand men. B-but not even Hokages are that powerful! They are only human…"

His sensei had created the _law_ to stop children her age from knowing the secret of the Kyuubi. But Jiraiya had no regard for that law.

Because Naruto was a hero.

"You are a great fuuinjutsu master, weren't you? Did the fourth learn from you?"

He remained silent, but gave her the briefest of nods. And she continued.

"In medical class, we learned that the regulation of blood within the body aids the person with his natural healing. Oxygen is essential for healing. There's a technique called the mystic palm which requires immense control and speeds up the body's healing. Naruto has the worst chakra control in the entire team. But Naruto's body system isn't really what I would consider normal. He has a high healing rate."

"He's also an Uzumaki," Jiraiya said.

Sakura looked furrowed her brow for a second.

"Half-Uzumaki," Sakura said. Her eyes drifted to the Hokage monument over his shoulder. "He bears a severe resemblance to the Fourth, doesn't he? The Fourth was a Namikaze. They were an ordinary second generation shinobi family."

"And Uzumaki?" Jiraiya asked. She was assuming. You never assume. But she was correct, or mostly correct. Namikaze family had died out with all their secrets intact, anyways.

"I can't find any clan records on Uzumaki," Sakura chattered. "But _being_ Uzumaki implies that he has a large chakra reserve, ne? But I don't think that's enough. With the mystic palm technique, all healing techniques function by equivalent exchange. I input exactly the amount of healing chakra into the wound, too much and I risk exploding the chakra-vessels. Too little and it would be insufficient. Naruto has terrible control, but a ridiculous reserve of power. He can make _a_ lot of advanced clones. Shadow-clones."

Jiraiya waited, arms folded.

"So, someone does it for him."

 _Kyuubi._ He thought, with much venom. Not the energy of a thousand men, it was a _limitless_ source of chakra.

Sakura gazed at the Fourth's face like she recognized something. Red evening shadows clung to the contours of his face. He looked straight over the village and into the forest. He was always watching the village of Konoha and beyond.

Her eyes widened.

"And what is your conclusion, Sakura?"

"Fuuinjutsu. That's what the Third did to Orochimaru's arms to incapacitate him. That's what is rumored. And the Fourth was a great fuuinjutsu master," Sakura whispered. "The fox demon is sealed in Naruto, isn't it?"

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" _Sasuke…"_

Shadow forests. Vines twining around his fists. Vines twined around his neck. They held him captive in the dark of night. A snake slid up his neck and up his shirt. The edge of his tongue tickled Sasuke's chin.

 _Watch,_ the snake hissed. Sasuke looked up and screamed.

Naruto and Sakura were both pierced with Zabuza Momochi's blade. He twisted and the vines loosened. His eyes bled red. He tried to create a katon.

" _But what makes Sasuke Uchiha unique_?"

But he spat out was a wisp of flame. Sasuke breathed. Naruto and Sakura's bodies stared up at him.

" _I can teach you greatness."_

" _You could be so much more than your brother. Konoha has nothing for you. There's always someone better and stronger than you. What makes Sasuke Uchiha different from his clan-members?"_

He knelt beside their cold bodies. 

" _I could give you power. I could teach you to be the man you were meant to become."_

His reserves filled up. He broke free with the strength filling his muscles and quickly reformed a set of seals. The Dragon Fire Breath jutsu.

And the world lit up. His body shook. Someone had a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Wake up, it's jus' a bloody dream!"

He shot out his arm to _punch_ the assailant. But there was a grip on his fist, almost about to crack it.

Sasuke's eyes shot open.

He was swathed in blankets and sweat seeping through his clothes. The red, setting sun poured through the unfamiliar room. It was evening.

"Geeez."

The hand on his wrist was loosened.

Sasuke twisted his head to look at the woman, who was walking away from him. She turned on the tap. He sat up and observed his surroundings. It was a small room. There were no pictures on the wall, and papers were scattered messily over the small bar counter-top. There were clothes on the floor.

She held out the glass of water towards him.

Anko's eyes were trained on the seal on his neck.

"Where am I?" He asked, taking it.

"My place," Anko said. She averted her eyes from the retreating seal-marks. "I've informed your mother that you would be training late. Poor thing, she would have a fit if she found out that her son fainted."

He was sleeping on her futon.

"I didn't _faint_." Sasuke scowled. "I was knocked out."

"Whatever. You and I are going to have a little talk." She said gesturing towards him, "Before brother bear comes to see where you've gone off to and pisses his pants."

"About what?" Sasuke asked her, apprehensive. He didn't want to worry Itachi. "I need to be getting home."

His father had given him a curfew in the light of recent events. He didn't want to violate that.

"About your seal," she said. "And the little fuckin' voices in your head." He stiffened. "You hear Orochimaru, don't you?'"

She paused. Sasuke twisted around to look at her. She peeled down her collar and revealed a single mark of three tomoe on her neck. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"You…you have it?"

She let go of the collar, zipping it up her throat.

"Ten years, kid," she said. "I had bloody rotten luck. Always have. Y'see, I was _privileged_ to have him as a Jounin-sensei. As did two others. They didn't last long though."

"That person…he used to be a Jounin of Konoha?" Sasuke asked uncertainly.

Anko's face twisted.

"Of course he did, kid. He's Orochimaru. One of the _Legendary_ Saanin. Our Hokage's teammate," she said. "He was supposed to be trustworthy."

"One of my teammates was a Hyuuga. Orochimaru took his eyes and killed him." She gestured towards her eyes and pulled down a lid. "He was found with the bodies of children in his secret laboratory _in_ Konoha."

Sasuke wanted to itch the seal on the side of his neck off. Anko kept talking. Her voice was slightly more distant. Colder.

"They tell me that he was missing a limb or two, covered in his own vomit and tortured incessantly to death. Whatever, his misery is ended." Anko waved it off. "Orochimaru will use you up like a rag to wipe himself off. Then your body will be disposed for his purposes. And you will be too blinded by _power_ and too weak to fight him off. Much like my teammate."

Did she _really_ just compare him to a Hyuuga?

"I'm strong." Sasuke said, confidence seeping in. He was his father's boy. "I'm stronger than everyone in our generation. I'm an Uchiha. I'm not your _Hyuuga_ teammate."

There was silence.

"Oh." Anko piped in cheerily. "Oh I see."

Then a paper hanging off the counter, floated gently to the floor with a sudden gust of wind.

She was gone.

Then she was in front of him. She pulled him by the front of his shirt, up to her face. So close that he could see the bags underneath her eyes and the crushing weight of her killing intent.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you right. And just _what_ makes you think that you more special again?"

.

 _Itachi,_

 _Certain things and circumstances have gotten in the way. But I'll be able to let you in on the details of my life soon. Apparently, I'm getting leave for a week._

 _I'll be in Konoha by the time you receive this._

 _See you soon. Give my love to your parents and Sasuke. Take care._

 _Shisui_

a/n : I edited out quite a bit. I also added in some bits. I think I had to take it down by a 1000 words?


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing.**

Atrophy

Chapter 3

a/n: edited July 18, 2017

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki just knew how to poke and prod at someone's buttons to piss them off.

Sasuke (the bastard) got pissed off when Naruto insulted his family. Or his brother.

And Kakashi-sensei (the other bastard) was hard to piss off. But he pissed Naruto off. So, Naruto made it part of his nindo to peel off Kakashi's stupid mask. Believe it! He'd figure out Kakashi-sensei's weak point soon enough. Maybe he had a huge ugly mole or uglier teeth underneath his mask.

And then was finally Sakura-chan.

Naruto didn't really know what buttons he pushed to make Sakura-chan mad. Maybe sometimes he said the wrong thing. Maybe he made her angry, because he fought with Sasuke. But the bastard didn't deserve Sakura-chan, even if Sakura-chan loved Sasuke.

But his team-mates were his alone to piss off. No one had the right—his right.

So when Kiba and Shikamaru looked at each other—one giving the other a reprimanding look, the other scoffing—he had a vague feeling about what was going on.

"Why did you say that to Sakura-chan?" Naruto hissed. He turned to his most obvious target—Kiba.

"What the hell do you mean?" Kiba snapped. "I didn't say anything. Shikamaru did. Look, I get that she's your team-mate and everything and no offense but the girl is a bitch."

"What did you say about Sakura-chan?" There was a snap of his chopsticks.

"That she's a b—"

"Kiba, drop it." Shikamaru interrupted the conversation, before Teuchi looked over.

"And why the fuck would I listen to you?" Kiba snapped at him. Teuchi got interrupted by another customer who was waiting for his order.

"I outrank you. Don't make me pull rank on you."

"Bullshit."

"It's true." Chouji nodded. "Shika became chuunin. And Naruto—" He turned to the seething blonde, unperturbed "—Haruno was sick. Ramen is just not agreeable with her."

Chouji usually never lied.

Naruto stared at him. Chouji continued eating, albeit faster.

"Liar," Naruto said.

"You can't force someone to stay," Chouji said through another mouthful. A thick accusation of denial was still present and veiled.

Naruto remembered Mizuki-sensei lying to him with pleasant smiles. But then again, Sakura-chan was smiling too. Just like Mizuki-sensei. His lie-detector went off with dozens of tiny itty-bitty alarm bells in his head. They echoed each other, and they bounced off each other.

Like she was being all fake. Like she was lying to him. Like Mizuki-sensei.

In Naruto's memory, Sakura was always sweet to whoever she wanted, and she could be mean to everyone else. But to Naruto, angry Sakura meant Naruto got past her defenses. Angry Sakura meant that Naruto got her full throttling attention. Flushed face and a harsh reprimand, but for that one second she was all his.

And suddenly, Naruto felt very unhappy and confused.

Now, Naruto, he told himself, this and that are two separate things. Sakura-chan is not your enemy. Mizuki-sensei was a bastard through and through.

The more he stared at her bowl of ramen, Naruto felt like he was sinking into his own thoughts. Team eight and Team ten shared looks over him. Shikamaru gave Kiba a warning look.

"I'm not taking it back," Kiba said with all the pomp of the Inuzaka clan son. "She treated you so badly stupid Naruto. Have some self-respect."

Akamaru cocked his ear at Naruto when he snapped his head up to look at Kiba.

"Ano…" Hinata squeaked. "I have something to say."

"She's my team-mate," Naruto snapped. "Your sister treats you like crap and you are always complaining about her. What if someone insulted her?"

"Um…" Shino sent Hinata an encouraging look as Naruto and Kiba glared daggers at each other.

"But that's different, she's family. Family is different." Naruto flinched at the word. "Do you remember how she treated us in the academy? Do you remember how she treated you in return for Sasuke?" This and that were two separate things, Naruto reminded himself.

"UM! Excuse me!" Hinata said.

"BOTH OF YOU!" Chouji roared. He startled the entire ramen shop. "Quiet."

Both boys fell silent, and Hinata breathed hard. Chouji settled down. Hinata sent him a grateful look. He grinned back at her.

"Kiba-kun, Sakura-chan was just mean to everyone because she had no…friends." Hinata said. She looked up at the group and winced when she felt the weight of five sets of eyes on her. "I think…she just wanted to show Ino-san and Ami and those mean kids that she didn't need their approval. But she just…just went about with things the wrong way with everyone else…"

The thing about children is that they didn't completely understand Sakura's bullying, and it didn't really matter to either of them. All that mattered is the fact that she _was_ mean. She did say mean things. She did do mean things to Naruto, and she was annoying. But what children (and sometimes adults) don't understand is the intricacies of the civilian pecking order—the disparity between the rich and poor civilians. They didn't understand why people picked on Sakura's forehead or called her dirt poor or insulted her parents.

But not everyone had Hinata's heart of gold to _try_ , and there was an unconvinced silence.

"No excuse to be a bitch. Shika's smart. Don't see him trying to make you feel stupid." Kiba hissed.

"Kiba-kun." Hinata frowned.

Shino remained silent, and his head tilted in Shikamaru's direction. Shikmaru heaved a sigh. Naruto was still seething. Chouji continued munching. And Kiba looked between all of them, trying to find someone who would agree with him.

"Let's change the topic," Shikamaru said.

Then Naruto looked down at his sandaled toes. They hovered over the ground.

"I know Sakura-chan doesn't like me…" Naruto said. "I'm not going to push her to like me. It's okay if she likes Sasuke-bastard…I just want my team to be happy. My team is my family. And you aren't allowed to say anything about my team-mates, Kiba! Or I'll pummel you."

He fixed a searing gaze on Kiba's face, and Kiba held his gaze.

"Have some self-respect," Kiba replied.

Something feral rose up in him, protective, angry like the day when Sakura held a bloody Sasuke, and Zabuza insulted them. An itty bitty feral voice in the corner of his head spoke up then, in the way it always did. He'd show him. He'd fight all of them.

How ironic, the voice continued. Taking advice about pride from a dog. You've really fallen far, haven't you brat?

"Shaddap," Naruto sneered instead.

And then Naruto thought—as the silence spread across the table—that even if his team wasn't okay lately, they would be alright in the end. There was nothing to back that thought up apart from the fact that it gets better. Iruka-sensei always said so. One day the villagers would understand him, and one day people would acknowledge Uzumaki Naruto.

It would happen.

"Let's change the topic," Shikamaru repeated. "Please."

"Bah." Kiba resigned himself with a loud thump on the table surface. Sakura's untouched ramen bowl rippled lightly. "Let's talk about something else."

They all agreed.

.

.

.

"Congratulations. You now know what genin and most children—born around the time of the Kyuubi attack—don't know. Naruto Uzumaki is the host of the nine-tails fox. You'll no doubt be researching that, won't you?" Jiraiya said.

Sakura nodded, briefly, listening with rapt attention as he spoke.

"Furthermore, his Uzumaki heritage also provides him with large reserves of chakra and more energy than most youth his age. Naruto does not rely on the fox's chakra. But he is genetically inclined to bear the fox. The moron doesn't have the training enough to control it."

Sakura frowned. "But he…"

"Oh no, don't get me wrong about healing. The Fox is taking care of the boy." Jiraiya said, he continued to walk. "Because the fox knows that if Naruto dies then he dies."

Sakura absorbed the information, carefully.

"How…how do you know about the fox?" She asked. She caught onto that single, sharp detail.

Jiraiya grinned at her.

"I knew the former host."

"Who was that?"

"Curious, aren't you?" Jiraiya raised a bushy eyebrow. "Not even Naruto knows about his parents. Why would I tell you?"

"Then that means it's kept a secret." Sakura widened her eyes in horror. "Why would you hide the names of his own parents from him?"

Whenever she had a nightmare, she would be crawling through the opening of their rooms for comfort. They would stroke her back and remind her that everything was alright. 'Mama' and 'Papa' were soothing words of comfort.

What would it feel like to wake up to the lonely dark and the sound of lonelier ticking clocks?

Jiraiya seemed to know what she was thinking about. He scratched his cheek and averted his eyes.

"Which direction is your house in?"

"You…" Sakura said. "Even if you don't tell me anything. I will find out. And I will tell him. He deserves to know the name of his father and his m-mother."

She strode ahead of him.

"And what good would that do?" Jiraiya said. He fell into step with her easily. "Go ahead, tell him that the Fourth Hokage was his father. And he would be awfully, terribly, incredibly"—he punctuated each adjective with a step—"upset that his own Father—his idol, the Fourth, the great hero—cursed him to this fate."

Sakura pursed her lips up. "What does that matter?" Sakura asked. "How could the Fourth Hokage do that? There's not enough explanation."

"Hmm…" Jiraiya pretended to think. "Well kid, I'd can't tell you everything," he said. "One day you'll learn that there are some sacrifices that _have_ to be made for the sake of the village. No matter how cruel and unfair."

"Okay," Sakura said. "First off, I understand that. But I don't understand why you wouldn't tell him!"

"The boy dreams darkly and clings to the light. So any validation that he can get, he'll take. Now imagine if you told him the truth." The words were bitter on his mouth. "What would it do to him if he knew the truth? You are a smart girl, aren't you?"

Then it occurred to her. Naruto felt like a ticking time-bomb.

She felt her eyes prick with tears. His sunny grins filled her head, and the way he riled her up with his antics, and how he accepted her no matter what. He warmed her on the inside, because Naruto was selfless. His utter selflessness as he tried to save her, countless times, filled her head. And then the way his eyes went red and stormy when Sasuke's breath was faint, lying down on that cold, wet bridge.

When Zabuza nearly killed Sasuke, she remembered the look on his face, feral.

When Gaara attacked her, she remembered an inhuman scream as the world around her went dark, as she clung onto Sasuke's bloodied shirt.

"You are so cruel!" She said feeling angry and confused. "It's not fair. No one deserves Naruto's fate. Not him of all people!"

"Nothing is ever fair if you are a shinobi," Jiraiya mumbled. "God, kid. I'm not responsible for this shit." Sakura wasn't listening to him. She smoothed down her dress, and she gritted her teeth at the ground.

"Even Kakashi sensei knew…" Sakura whispered. "And he said nothing."

"It is the law." Jiraiya sighed. "He was under orders. Not his fault."

"And how am I supposed to feel about the village that I grew up in, being the source of ruining my team-mate's life? How am I supposed to feel about all of this?" Sakura yelled, suddenly—startling the group of shinobi. She turned to Jiraiya. "Tell me!"

They stood in the middle of a street. Sakura directed her angry look at Jiraiya, and Jiraiya remained thoughtful. He tried to think of a proper response. He understood her question, but what could anyone do? Perhaps the Third didn't want to get his hands dirty by babying the village Jinchuuriki—who was abhorred by the village and the people? Jiraiya himself distanced himself from the boy.

But she was too young to understand the intricacies of these politics, of the civilian population and the clan's stilted silence on the matter of Uzumaki Naruto. They all got a significant fright when a huge fox—a henge of Gambunta—showed up to fight Shukaku.

Jiraiya waited until the shinobi were out of sight.

"And how is any of this my problem?" Jiraiya then asked her. His usually casual, friendly tone had a frosty touch.

"B-because…."

"You dug for the truth." Jiraiya said. "I said nothing. You found out everything on your own using your smart head. It's always up to you what you want to do with the truth."

"Because it's not fair, alright?" Sakura blurted out. "And now I know, and now I feel so terrible for being mean to him. And now I feel horrible for something I didn't know! This is unfair! This village is unfair! I feel…bad for hurting him." She murmured.

Jiraiya remained silent for a minute.

"Do you think the Fourth wanted it?" Jiraiya asked her, and his tone softened as if he suddenly realized her age. "But it was necessary for the sake of Konoha. Some sacrifices have to be made. But the thing is, you feel this way about Naruto, in the way many grown men and women don't. He's a twelve year old boy—not the demon."

They kept walking. Some people gave the two of them looks, because it was odd seeing the Legendary toad sage with a very angry girl.

But neither of them cared.

"But I think, the village had lost a lot too, on that day." Jiraiya said, lowly.

His mind seared with familiar bitter emotions which took him years to supress.

Sakura stared at him. Her hands felt weary, as if she was holding a shovel, raw and bruised and feeling very cheated as she found nothing but ugly bones underneath Konoha's earth.

The village was a tomb, a tomb of dirty secrets.

And you could see the ghosts in the eyes of it's people.

Sakura wiped her eyes and her snot.

"s'not…fair." She mumbled once more.

"But if there's even one person, one person who wants to do good in this village. There's hope," Jiraiya told her. It was something a little boy told him, who wore goggles and made wild excuses about helping old ladies cross the road and saving cats from great and terrible villains. A boy was also the clan pariah.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, and neither of them didn't felt Sakura's pursuer. Why did the kid have a pursuer, Jiraiya thought. He glanced at her from the side of his eye. A civilian kid too.

Sakura glared at the ground, like it had done her some disservice.

Besides that, their conversation got him reliving memories of his, and he thought of what Sarutobi-sensei told him.

'If the boy lets his emotions get in the way—the fox will be released. We are raising a weapon. Not a child. Imagine me assigning him a care-taker. But what if they abuse him. Then he knows how hurtful warmth and human touch is. I cannot control people's actions. And the emotional trauma of 'losing' and of being 'cheated', I can't control that. It is better that the boy doesn't know it."

And on that day, he walked out on his Hokage—feeling very much like his teammates who left the village—all those years before.

.

.

.

A tense minute passed, and Sasuke grit his teeth. Then he looked away, over her shoulder at her bland walls illuminated by the red, evening sun.

She gripped his collar.

"I'm not a Hyuuga," he repeated more forcefully. "I'm an Uchiha…we are the strongest in the entire village."

"All the more reason to pluck out your eyeballs." Anko snickered. "And no, there are stronger, better, greater shinobi than the Uchiha—" She had a gleam in her eye as Sasuke squirmed angrily. "—but that matters squat—" She cut him off as he was about speak "—we all die the same way. So let me repeat my question, kid. What makes you think you're so special?"

"You are right. That's why I want to get strong."

"For what?" Anko drawled. "Do you have a purpose? Is it to maintain your position of being the strongest in the entire generation? Uchiha Sasuke. Here's your shiny medal for all your bloody achievements. You can hang it up on your wall with the rest of your family's bloody achievements."

Sasuke winced. Why was everyone so patronizing to him?

"I want to get strong to protect my family…" he said. "My mother, my father and my brother…and my team-mates and my clan. I want to be strong to live."

"No," Anko said. "You rely on the curse seal, just like I did. And you will continue to rely on the curse-seal—a taste of power that Orochimaru could give you. You remind me of me, kid. You are weak for power. You don't know when enough is enough."

And that set off a fire in his throat.

'They don't know you like I do. I understand you.'

"No! You don't!" he yelled. "You don't know anything about me or my family!"

Because they didn't understand how he felt. People envied the prized Uchiha eyes. They didn't understand it. His clan-members looked at him enviously, and his father like he was incompetent. Itachi had always had positions. He was twelve and finally chuunin. Itachi had been chuunin at ten.

It was always Itachi this, and Itachi that.

But Itachi—he didn't care for the clan. He cared for Konoha.

Sasuke wanted something. He wanted anything. He wanted to one-up his brother. Then his team happened, and shit he thought he was good. They crushed him again.

He wanted to be first.

 _'_ _There's nothing wrong with wanting to be strong_ _.'_

"What do you know?" He said, and his eyes bled into red. "You and the entire village. What do you know about the Uchiha?"

 _'_ _That's why I left this village, Sasuke. Because it was pathetic under the old-man's hand. I got stronger, strong enough to crush them all and crush anyone else in my path.'_

Anko merely stared at him like he was some sort of piece of dirt on her toe.

"What's wrong with wanting power?" He hissed. "I don't care what I have to do to get stronger."

 _'_ _Wanting_ _more. Take_ _everything,_ _Sasuke._ _Take whatever you need to take. Step higher and higher. Show the world what the Uchiha can do.'_

"And you sound exactly like him." Anko said. There was a crinkle underneath her eye. It highlighted the baggy eyes as her face contorted in fury. "Do you ever listen to yourself? Or do you just listen to him?"

"I am." Sasuke bit out. "I'm sorry that somewhere along the way, y-you didn't want to get stronger to kill your own sensei for revenge—" Anko's head was reeling. She considered hitting him. But what did he understand? "—but I'm not your Hyuuga team-mate. I'm stronger. I'm better."

 _'_ _That's right, m'boy.'_

Anko merely stared at him.

Like he was a difficult puzzle that she didn't want to solve, but at the same time, she could. She didn't want to navigate that emotional, conditioned labyrinth that was an issue and quite possibly a mine-field for her many of her own memories.

She dropped him. He fell on the futon. He felt the searing effect of her killing intent loosen on his limbs.

"Okay," she said. "Okay let me try to figure this out. You trust Orochimaru of all people, to give you the power you want so you can come back to Konoha—who will totally embrace you with open arms."

He stared back at her.

She sighed.

"Did his mother drop him on his head as a baby? Itachi?"

She shifted her eyes to the window.

There was a light cough, a raspy, wet cough, and Sasuke went still.

Sasuke twisted around to look at the silhouetted form of Itachi—who entered the room—soundlessly.

He leaned languidly against the window-sill. There was something unreadable on Itachi's face. But Sasuke read it as condescension, of 'not now Sasuke'. A touch of fingers against his forehead, and a 'maybe later Sasuke.' And then Itachi would slip on his sandals, he left Sasuke every Saturday morning watching his back.

Sasuke felt younger, smaller and more foolish, and when you were Sasuke Uchiha—you got angrier.

"To answer your question, Mitarashi-san. I think our mother always had a firm grip on him. Too firm."

And he let out a hiss of frustration. He tore off the blankets and pushed past Anko. He picked up his discarded shoes from the floor, slipped them on and slammed the door behind him.

Itachi merely stared after him.

"What? Aren't you going to go after him? You heard what he said. Frankly, I think the entire bloody apartment complex heard him."

Itachi moved into the room, and picked up Sasuke's discarded headband and bag pack.

"He's been spending too much time with father." He coughed again, stuffing the head-band into the bag-pack. "I think you may have kicked his pride down a notch or two...and that might be enough for today."

"You mean I did him a favor." She licked her lips. "You all really don't know what you are up against, do you? What Orochimaru wants, he will be annoyingly persistent about. But he's just one-half of the coin."

Itachi slung the bag over his shoulder. He spared her a glance.

"And here's the thing, he didn't want me. I begged him to take me with him, before I learned about his experiments. But he didn't want me. But if he wanted to, he would have. I'm trying to drive a nail through your brother's head—he has a choice."

Itachi felt a spasm, a twitch of pain, and he placed his fingers over his ribs.

"He's always been given too many choices."

.

.

.

"And give me one reason why I shouldn't be arresting you right now, on the spot."

"Because if you die, Godaime-sama, I'm the only one available for the position of Hokage apart from Shimura Danzou. And given what we both know about the War-hawk, that won't end up very well." Kakashi crinkled his eye. "Itachi Uchiha is too young."

Tsunade stared at him, with a severe look.

"And the only one in this village who can think of saying that to me and live. Tell me boy, does your head feel too big for your shoulders?"

"Too heavy with the Leaf Head-band which has been wrapped around my forehead for the past twenty-something years," he replied bitterly. "It's been too long since I was interrogated like this, Godaime. Twelve years in service for ANBU and as a Jounin."

"You didn't answer the question," Tsunade said. "I never said you were disloyal to the Leaf, but given what we 'both know about the War-hawk'." She made quote marks in the air. "What made you think that he could be a better Hokage than the Sandaime?"

Kakashi was silent.

"Are you unreasonable?" Tsunade raised her brow. "Really, given what we both know about the War-hawk."

She didn't know what he knew. But she knew what she had seen during the Second Shinobi War. Danzou was a military commander. He was cruel. She was lucky not to be on his battalion. But…her little brother had been under his command.

Her brother who shouldn't have even been on the frontlines.

She remembered barging through the Hokage's office saying, screaming, "Include medics on your squads. Sensei. You shot down my proposal to train them!"

Maybe then boys like Nawaki would be saved!

And Danzo, who was present at the time, said, "You are thinking with your emotions, Senju. We cannot afford such luxuries."

The Sandaime agreed with him, without even considering her proposal.

Only Dan…

Then Kakashi spoke, interrupting her thoughts.

"There's no easy way of saying this…" he said. "But yes, I believed that the Sandaime wouldn't make a good candidate as Hokage. He was too…soft-hearted. At the time, Danzo approached me whilst I was in ROOT with the knowledge that the Wood-release would have been able to restrain the Nine-tails. This is what your grandfather used."

"But the Hokage outlawed the practice of recreating the wood-release. We had tried and…"

"Because…" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Because Orochimaru had already attempted it. And Orochimaru had failed, how many children were killed for the sake of this experiment? Kakashi, he failed."

"Sixty Children," Kakashi said without a beat. "Sixty children were killed for these experiments, no I understand this. But Orochimaru had not failed."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"There was a ROOT agent. His name was Kinoe. He could use the First's technique. I informed the Third but we don't know the whereabouts of this agent."

Tsunade thought of her clan, one of the founding clans of Konoha, proud and strong. There were remnants today. Now an old, aging clan of hags and old men who sent her withering glances for not wanting to carry on the Senju line. It was for the sake of the prized wood-release nature transformation kekkai genkai. But Tsunade was uninterested in any man but Dan, and Dan was dead.

The Senju clan had eventually integrated into the civilian population. In the years that she left the village, she heard that the elders of the clan rescinded the compounds down for Konoha's expanding population. However, they weren't too perturbed, because she gained the position of Hokage. It's still something for the Senju clan to have three Hokages. The village was their home.

But what if Dan lived? What if they had children, little happy, tumbling children. If one of those children bore her grandfather's mokuton. Would Orochimaru have taken that child?

"Impossible," she said. "I heard about Orochimaru's experiments and I heard that he desecrated my grandfather's grave. But it feels…"

"It's hard to believe, I know. But I saw him use the very technique. Danzou told me that Minato-sensei wouldn't have died if they continued with experimentation. When I saw this boy…Kinoe, I believed Danzou. But when I spoke to the Hokage, he told me of Orochimaru's experiments. Every detail…Minato-sensei would have never wanted that to ever… continue even if it saved him and his family."

"Orochimaru had always been intelligent," Tsunade murmured.

"He was too intelligent. And he was very cruel…and Danzou agreed with Orochimaru. I decided that I wanted a soft-hearted Hokage." Kakashi said. "Danzou would be too cruel. The War-hawk is loyal but…"

He didn't know when enough was enough. Tsunade thought. The lengths, the obnoxious lengths that the War-hawk would go to in order to strengthen Konoha. So Konoha could be feared.

"Konoha's ROOT dips deep into the dirt, into the dark, cold places and has nothing but cruelty. I told him I was going to leave him because I didn't agree with his ways of doing things, of siding with Orochimaru. He told me that I was trash." Kakashi breathed. "He said he would do anything to make Konoha great even hurt Minato's son. That's when I fled ROOT before I could slit his neck."

Kakashi spoke with no tremor.

"I think that sums up my experience with ROOT." He continued.

 _She thought of Sakura._

 _"What are you willing to give up for this?" Tsunade's eyes hardened. "Everything?"_

 _"Everything."_

"Okay." Tsunade said. "Dismissed. Oi—" she thought of something. Kakashi waited. "—listen, with Sakura, when you try to make things right or whatever you do. Keep in mind she's not Rin. She's very different from Rin. Team Seven is not your team seven."

Kakashi stared at her.

"And you aren't Minato either," Tsunade continued. She didn't know of what she was trying to drive out. It felt like she was on the right track. "So uh—try not to bust a brain-cell thinking too much."

Kakashi waved his hand over his shoulder. Her paper-work lifted lightly as he left her office, in one swift seal. Tsunade stared at the spot where he disappeared from, before looking at her mounting paper-work.

Because thinking about emotional baggage was for night-time, surrounded by a bottle and drowning in cushions.

.

.

.

Mikoto stirred her cooking, back to the table. She didn't look back when Itachi entered.

"Kaa-san."

"Welcome back, Itachi. Your father has some business with the elders to attend to. Dinner will be ready shortly."

"Aa…" Itachi seated himself and stared at the wall. Itachi always hid his emotions well, but Mikoto was a mother, she knew her boy better than anyone. She turned and wiped her hands off her apron.

"Did you take your medication?"

He nodded. The Hokage had begun his treatment. She prescribed him a few drugs to keep him in line.

"Good," she said. "Now tell your kaa-san about what is bothering you." She began to braid his hair.

"Sasuke," he said with no hesitation. "Has he been talking to father?"

Mikoto blinked. An age-old dread that had hung over the household for years reminded her of the familiarity of contempt, of cousins and brothers and uncles and fathers who fought about the future of the clan. But she had plenty practice with these situations.

Women usually had no say.

"Perhaps. Fugaku is your father. Sasuke is his son as well. I however, do not know of their affairs."

She looped a thick collection of strands around her finger.

"Sasuke he…he speaks like Father. He speaks like the clan."

Itachi was too young to remember the animosity and the discord of being detained underneath suspicion in the center of the village. Mikoto had lost him and Sasuke in the crowds that day—and her brother, Kagari told her that he would find him.

Shisui followed his father.

She closed her eyes. Those were memories she didn't want to remember.

"And what does the clan speak like?"

"You know what I mean, kaa-san."

She left the rest of his braid, loose. She brought a comforting hand around his arm and pulled him into a hug.

"Itachi. Don't worry so much about the clan. Worry about your own health. You are going to get better. I believe in the Godaime."

Itachi didn't say anything.

"And as for Sasuke, I'm his mother too, you know?" She continued.

And neither of them, not Mikoto nor Itachi noticed Sasuke—who had come to retrieve his pack and masked his signature—listening in on their conversation and holding a little bottle of medication between his clamped fingers. He glanced wordlessly at the kitchen door.

.

.

.

Itachi was sick.

Itachi Uchiha of the great Uchiha clan, was sick. The brother that Sasuke had idolized for years—was sick. And he was taking medication for it. But Itachi's spars still hurt him, and he could barely graze his older brother. Sasuke felt like in those two seconds when he found the bottle of pills on Itachi's nightstand, his entire world crashed down around him.

Like little tiny glass shards.

And it fell apart.

And he couldn't fix it. Somewhere else

 _'_ _What if I told you, I could_ _?'_

"Liar," he breathed. "Liar Liar Liar."

.

.

.

The day Naruto left came faster for all of them. Sasuke had heard of it from Kakashi—but he assumed it was just some kind of reassignment. His cousin, Shisui had gotten some reassignment too in a different part of the Land of Fire. Konoha shinobi often also worked at the border.

But then he heard it from the dobe himself, he was going to train.

"You are leaving the village," he said.

Naruto grinned, holding up an odd pink and blue bracelet around a fist. He suspected that it was from Sakura.

"Hell yeah! I'm going on a journey with ero-sannin here! You better take good care of Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke scoffed. Sakura was currently talking to Kakashi. He looked over at the two of them, curiously. Sakura's face was blank. Kakashi's face had crinkle.

But both of their shoulders were tense.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Naruto asked him.

Sasuke averted his eyes. "Nothing I care about."

"You never care about anything. What do you care about, Sasuke?" Naruto snapped.

"And you care too much!" Sasuke shot back. "It's not our business. We don't listen."

"But they are our business—Sakura-chan doesn't look too happy. Something is going on, right?" Naruto asked. He narrowed his eyes at the duo."

"We're not a team any more."

"You are wrong." Naruto said in a low voice. "Did the last few months mean nothing to you? Or do you just care about your clan? We're team, we are your family too, y'know?"

Sasuke snapped. "Stop trying to be all sentimental, dobe. Cry-baby ninja get killed."

"I wasn—"

"And I wouldn't expect you to understand the concept of family," he drawled. Naruto stiffened. "Dead-laast."

And then in a flash, he felt fingers around his neck. He was faster. He brought his knee up to the dobe's stomach. The dobe took a moment to recover, and dobe resorted with a punch to his cheek-bone.

He tasted blood.

Oh of all the—

Sasuke stumbled backward, wiped his mouth and began to work through a series of seals. His wrist was held back. Naruto was being held back as well by a very disgruntled Ero-saanin. His eyes were narrowed.

"Shut up! Shut up! Let me go!"

He stared around at his surroundings, at Sakura who was staring at the two of them with a horrified look. She then turned to Naruto and flinched at the look on his face.

"Well then…" Kakashi chuckled. "Wouldn't want either of you killing each other, would we?"

Sakura turned to him once, giving him a cursory glance. She then glared at Naruto and at him. The dobe flinched at her look. He was mildly surprised. Sakura had never ever reacted like that—

"Stop fighting!" She yelled at them even though they were six feet apart, and they pulled back by their mentors. "Both of you!"

"Okay, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. He winced.

Sasuke—in his surprise at her distress—nodded.

Jiraiya shared a look with Kakashi. He let go of Naruto. Kakashi let go of Sasuke. The Uchiha scoffed. He watched as Sakura, eyes still on a very disgruntled Naruto.

She almost looked…scared?

She stomped over and put her face so close to the dobe's, that Sasuke thought that the dobe would go into cardiac arrest.

"You'll come back to the village," she whispered, loud enough for Sasuke to hear. "And you will get stronger, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

"O-Okay!?"

Sasuke itched the skin near his neck. Kakashi slapped his hand away and grabbed him by the shoulder, steering him in the direction of his teammates.

He was standing right in front of them.

"You both need to say sorry to each other." Kakashi piped in, cheerfully. "Come on now."

Sakura watched her teammates with bathed breath.

"Hell naw!"

"Never!"

Then Kakashi pulled him in, by the grip of his shoulder—before he could react. Naruto and Sakura were dragged into the—was that a hug? He smelled the mud off Kakashi's shirt. He smelled Sakura's wet hair and the dobe's sweat.

"—WHAT THE HELL, KAKASHI-SENSEI!?"

Sasuke thought he burst an ear-drum. Sakura looked horrified. Naruto was still yelling at Kakashi to let go. But Kakashi held his grip.

"What?" he asked, cheerfully. His cheerfulness creeped Sasuke out—somuchomygod. "You mean all those months of sticking together out in the cold for warmth wasn't enough for you all? Here's a hug to make it all better."

Sasuke's cheeks felt warm. Sakura was squealing. Naruto fumbled and fidgeted.

"Naruto you elbowed my rib!"

"S-sorry Sakura-chan! Kakashi-sensei let go—"

And Sasuke felt that sense of warmth in his belly. Like they were going to be alright. Like how they felt when Kakashi stepped in front of them, pushing up his headband and gazing at Zabuza with a single, terrifying glance.

Back then, things were simpler, and the skin on his neck was clear and his mind was clearer. And the future looked so great. And his brother wasn't dying.

And Sasuke remembered that it would be team against the world. And Sasuke felt inspired.

"Can you let go now, Kakashi." Sasuke hissed. "We get the stupid point."

Kakashi only chuckled and gripped them tighter.

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Shizune remembered the uncertainty she felt when Tsunade had told her about Sakura. About how she was interested in the girl.

"Think we should buck up her training, no?"

"Tsunade-sama, I don't think she can handle that level of—theory."

"She's only in the class for formalities," Tsunade said. "Also because I don't particularly care to teach her the basics when she can sit with other medical nin her age. But as far as I can see, she has an aptitude for the medical side of shinobi life."

So Shizune kept an eye on the girl.

She had talent, no doubt, a head full of bookish knowledge and fumbling fingers as she answered questions. Every single answer was textbook quality even where Shizune managed to twist the questions around. Shizune watched as the girl leaned over, and helped her partner.

"It's not very hard…" she said, pointing at the textbook paragraph. "It's like how Hyuugas use their kekkai genkai to look at people's chakra-pathways. We hone chakra to look at people's physical organs."

They were learning how to examine the internals of the fish. The class was buzzing with questions, peers were helping each other and Sakura seemed to be the popular-go-to for answers. But it was a break-time and everyone was interested in how to hone medical chakra. They were all huddled over a textbook and a fish. They were reading the theory.

Shizune really didn't expect anyone to get it this early.

She was about to bring the class back into session.

Someone knocked on the classroom door and Shizune got up. She opened it.

"I'm sorry, this class is in—" she paused and stared. "I b-beg your pardon, Danzou-sama! How may I help you?"

And the old war-hawk glanced at her. His ROOT attendants behind him. Then the war-hawk then gave her a twitch of a nod.

"I assume you are the child that Tsunade took on as an apprentice."

"Yes sir," Shizune said.

"What's your name?"

"Shizune."

"Shizune, just Shizune? No family name?"

As long as she remembered, she never had one, so Shizune shook her head. "No sir. I was too young when my parents died. I lived with my sickly uncle."

"My apologies," Danzou said. "May I come in? I would just like to inspect the class."

Shizune stepped aside, and he scanned the classroom. They all rose up to greet him. He waved it away.

"Please continue," he said. "Don't mind me or my attendants. We're just here to observe."

Shizune's eyes fell on Sakura. Sakura looked at her. Shizune glanced away as the war-hawk looked to her. He strolled over to her desk, observing the books. He picked up one of them.

"So this class is to train new medical shinobi."

"Yes sir, specially implemented by the Hokage herself."

"Ah…" Danzou said, flipping through the pages, his eyes scanning the contents. "The leaf hasn't had proper medical training since our respectful Hokage left the village."

Shizune thought she felt a hint of condescension in his voice, lacing in his words.

"Revolutionized the medical world, that woman. Prior to her, medical shinobi were not allowed on the frontline squads. She was the only exception. Still is," he said, his words, far-away and drawn out. "I'm going to assume that she wants to implement medical shinobi on every squad? How's that going?"

"I believe we don't have the resources or people to implement that plan on the squads," Shizune said. "But we will be working towards that, sir. Many of these graduates will go on to work on the hospital, on high-profile missions or just in some of our towns."

"Interesting," Danzou said. "Unfortunately, medical shinobi can also be a liability, another resource to protect. But we have our differences on village funding and administration."

Shizune smiled.

He put down the book.

"I don't mean that medical shinobi are not inherently useful. They are vital," he hummed. "I believe that the Leaf could use this change in tact—"

There was a soft sound of an explosion, an explosion of people chattering, looking over a certain pinkette's shoulder at her work. Her fingers ghosted over the scaly skin of the fish.

"Sakura-chan! How did you manage to do that?"

"Hehhhh?"

"Please be quiet!"

Then Shizune's breath caught when she discovered the source of the disturbance.

Sakura's fingers flickered green. She closed her eyes in concentration, biting her lip. Shizune watched with wide eyes.

"Impossible…" she mumbled in disbelief. "She's already managed to hone medical chakra? But it's only been two weeks…" She covered her mouth. "Oh sorry." She said, looking at Danzou. "I didn't mean to be so rude."

"That's fine." Danzou said, waving his hand. "It was only a short visit."

He gave the pinkette a cursory glance. She opened her eyes, breathing hard. She then stared at the fish angrily and then up at Shimura Danzou. Something alight. Something hard. Something challenging. The war-hawk held her gaze—before her neighbour slung her arms around her and cooed.

"Sakura-chan is the youngest of all of us and so talented. This is so unfair!"

Sakura felt her cheeks being pulled as the other medics cheered and mussed her hair. She spluttered.

"Awwh! Sakura-chan show me how to do it! I promise to buy you treats at the Summer Festival!"

"That's Sakura-senpai to you! Ahhh—wait—keep your fish hands off me!"

Danzou's face revealed nothing, not a twitch of emotion as he folded his arms behind his back and hobbled to the door. His fingers clenched the staff.

"I'll be going then. May the rest of your class go well." He paused at the door. "I have high hopes about Hokage-sama's program."

Shizune bowed, blinking, as she tried to register the past few minutes.

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Itachi coughed. The sound wracked against Sasuke's nerves. He flinched and curled around his knees—tightly like he was in pain. Now that he thought about it, Itachi always did have a cough. Sasuke assumed it was because Itachi overworked himself. His mother always told him

 _'_ _Come now Sasuke-kun. I know you've shut me out since Naruto left the village. Look at him getting stronger. And look at_ _ **you**_ _._ _'_

"Liar." He said again. "Itachi, my brother, he's sick. He was—nothing matters now. Not you."

He stared at the walls of his bedroom. He hoped it would go away—because Itachi was sick and he was going to die. And it would only be Sasuke. And it would be all the dreams that Sasuke had, of his parents acknowledging him, and him alone.

And suddenly all those dreams felt foolish.

"Sasuke?"

He turned around, looking at his mother who was leaning against his door-frame.

"Are you okay?"

 _'_ _I can fix him.'_

"Sasuke?"

 _'_ _I can prove it to you.'_

"I'm okay mom." Sasuke smiled. "Really. Uh—Iforgotsomething at Kakashi's place! I'll be back soon okay?"

 _'_ _If you give me the chance.'_

Mikoto nodded, feeling very weirded out at the thick smile on Sasuke's face. She didn't say anything else, however. She closed his door.

"How." He whispered, feeling very vulnerable.

And he heard a chuckle, a deep, unearthly chuckle—the kind that filled up the forest when he first saw Sasuke—and Sasuke, was terrified, all over again. But he wasn't at all at the same time. Because he would do anything for his stupid, perfect older brother—even sink so deep into darkness that he couldn't find himself anymore.

 _'_ _Follow and listen.'_

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And all of Anko's warnings, all of Kakashi's lessons on suppressing the seal, all of Itachi's warnings, all of the thoughts of Konoha, of his clan, of the streets—of the memories and of the life he could have led in another time with a happy team seven—flew out of his mind.

He trudged the streets, wearing a hooded sweatshirt—even at nighttime Konoha was lively because of the upcoming festival.

And Sasuke wanted no one to see him.

But Sasuke moved past the lights, the sounds and the smells of the three-day Konoha Summer festival. He trudged on, aided only by the sound of the voice in his head.

And Orochimaru spoke.

It was ten years ago.

In the now torn down laboratory, Orochimaru had been given a challenge, in return he got funds. He was to take Hashirama's DNA and recreate the Moukoton jutsu. Children—no subjects from all villages—including his own student, a Hyuuga. Perhaps an inbred child like a Hyuuga would be an ideal candidate for the experiments.

So the experiments began.

Child after child were disposed off. Sixty subjects dropped to fifty-five and he was elbows deep in their guts. But with each passing death, his twisted, sadistic indifference grew.

And finally—when he was down to his last thirty, and the Hyuuga was lying down on the ground, twisting in agony and pain—he realized what the Hyuuga branch-seal could do.

And he realized what his former student was doing.

"Saizo," he murmured, realizing that it was already too late—he couldn't gouge out the eyes. Because the Hyuuga branch-seal destroyed the eyes on death.

He was staring at the gaping holes in his former student's skull.

Saizo was his sixtieth subject.

There was a poisons expert in Suna, someone who had taught him the art of internal paralysis, shrivelling up the insides—to clean up the insides. But it would destroy his work lest Konoha tried to recreate it.

It was a complex formula of poisons.

One copy of it was in the laboratory—probably destroyed and turned to ash by now.

The other copy was sealed—hidden in Konoha's library, aisle two, top shelf, second bookcase, sealed inside the flap of a book on 'Konoha's founders and their Raunchy Romances' written by Madam Shinji—Usually dubbed as the book equivalent of toilet paper for people who were especially into Madara Uchiha's star-crossed yet one-sided love on Mito Uzumaki—and how it led to the great battle at Konoha's Valley of the End.

Mostly untrue, but still a fun-read.

Sasuke opened the flap and stared at the names of people who checked out the book.

Exactly ten years ago—

Below a roughly scrawled 'Tenzo' and after a beautifully written name of 'Rin Nohara' was the single ink-splattered was hurriedly scrawled—'Orochimaru'.

Sasuke peeled off the flap of the book.

And he released the seal.

The light filled the dark library, leaving him staring at pages and pages of sealed information. The words twisted into notes. They fell out on his lap, all of them neatly labelled from 1-20.

Only pages 15, 12, and 14 were missing.

'Did you think I would really make it easy for you, Sasuke?' Orochimaru drawled.

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Two days after Danzo's visit, the festival was in full swing.

"I haven't been able to visit the summer festival! Shizune-senpai, please let off on the homework!" one of her fellow medics whined.

It was evening, the sun was setting and Sakura was helping the class with clean-up. Shizune herself, who was prepping for her evening shift at the hospital, pulled on her coat. She wrapped it around her waist and laughed.

"Well, I haven't been to Konoha's infamous summer festival either!"

Sakura's class-mate, Toudou, if she remembered correctly—was one of the older chuunins in the program who decided to try his hand at medical ninjutsu. He had a bulky physique and top-knot. He pouted and Shizune laughed.

"Clean up quickly and lock up all the doors, I don't think Iruka-sensei would appreciate it if he found fish-guts lying around!" Shizune waved and walked out.

"Mou, she's such a slave-driver!"

"But you haven't seen the Godaime." Sakura giggled. "She's even scarier."

Toudou giggled too. "I heard she used Akira-sensei's pay-check toward her gambling debts! Because he made a mistake in treating one of his patients."

They both continued cleaning, wiping the counter-tops. Sakura then wrung out the rag into the bucket. They continued to work in silence. Somewhere between cleaning, Sakura gazed at her wet fingers and thought of the way chakra could be used.

What if, like medical ninjutsu which could be used for good, she could use it for harm, reversing the process of healing?

What if she could hone her chakra into a blade—like a kunai?

Like Shizune's chakra scalpel—you could make cuts inside the body without actually opening the body. Sakura stared at her fingers.

What kind of devastation…

"Haruno?" Toudou asked her. "Mind finishing up?"

She turned around to look at Toudou. He smiled at her. "Let's go see the Summer festival?"

She nodded with a smile of her own.

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His ankle was thickly swathed in bandages as he rested it on a pile of cushions.

"You sprained your ankle?" Mikoto asked him. "Couldn't you get it checked at the hospital?"

"They told me to come home, and they'll probably heal it tomorrow," Sasuke said. "It will go away. I just need to rest."

"Ah." Mikoto nodded. "I guess that means that you won't be attending the clan-meeting?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"I'll inform your father," she said.

And then, his parents, bid him good-bye. Sasuke was glad that he didn't have to see Itachi. Because Itachi would never forgive him for what he was about to do. Even if it was for Itachi's sake.

The moment the front door closed. He slid his ankle off the cushion. He walked over to the window and pulled it up—watching his clan-members leave.

Then he pulled out a bag pack from underneath his bed.

If all clan-members were attending the clan-meeting, there was no police force to guard the village, and since the Konoha Summer festival was happening simultaneously—he could easily escape everyone's notice. He waited until the Uchiha leaving their houses were out of sight—then he telelported from his bedroom, without looking back.

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"I know this village since I was born, Toudou-san!" Sakura laughed. "I would know where the summer festival is—"

"Oh really?" Toudou asked her. "Well then stay close, Haruno-san! I'm scared that I'll get lost!" He clenched her shoulder and cowered.

"Then you have to buy me treats!"

"No way!"

They continued walking. Sakura thought it was a nice change of pace, she was here, walking shoulder to shoulder with a medical peer, occasionally making jokes about their class, about what Shizuka snuck in, about what someone else did—

She breathed in and breathed out.

The summer festival brought back memories. Memories of her—daydreaming about Sasuke as she walked the buzzing streets—hand in hand. Back in those days, she thought of nothing but Sasuke. These days she didn't think much of him at all.

Probably because loving him hurt.

And she only imagined him, covered in blood, looking so pale and unearthly.

Sakura was so caught up with thinking about Sasuke, she didn't notice the way Toudou fell behind till he whispered into her ear.

"I lied about not being from Konoha. I lied about a lot of things." Her blood ran cold. "But I lie for all the good reasons. If you can spot your teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, you need to know that he's in trouble. You need to go save him before he's gone forever."

Sakura jolted. She whipped around, but Toudou was gone. "Toudou—"

Fingers trembling—she spread her senses then, looking for that familiar spike of black hair and blue shirt and white shorts. She then saw him. The back of his clan-symbol half visible with the bag-pack he shouldered.

He moved through the crowds.

She followed, being pushed here and there.

"Sasuke!?"

He only moved faster.

She pushed her way past the shouts of—'Hey!' and 'What the!?'

"Sasuke!" She hollered.

Before they stopped right before the west gate of Konoha—which was currently open but unguarded. He then turned, and raised a brow. But the area was deserted. Sakura would have noticed that the gate-guards were missing, if she wasn't so focused on him.

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Where are you going?" She asked, breathlessly.

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He was standing on the rooftop, facing the west-gate of Konoha. He stared at the two lone individuals with a frown, debating whether or not he should inter—

"Now, now Yakushi." He heard a soft voice. "You know the sharingan cannot leave Konoha."

And Kabuto turned to look at the person behind him. He couldn't recognize the signature but he knew that deep, raspy voice anywhere. He stood against the wall, leaning back, so casually as he folded his arms. He was staring at him.

"What do you mean...Tenzou?" Kabuto asked him.

And the henge of Toudou fell apart, peeled off his skin like wood chips. And he stood there, hands in his pockets. And the man grinned at him, the top-knot fell into a tuft of brown hair and a lean physique as opposed to the henge's bulkier one.

"Those were Danzou-sama's orders." Tenzou said, as if it was all that mattered. "And to eliminate the snake—and any of it's eggs."

Kabuto pushed up his glasses.

"We should have done away with you a long time ago, Yakushi."

"And he's willing to risk losing one of his talented medics for this—cause?" Kabuto laughed, and it came out like the sound of clattering knives. "Come now, Tenzou, surely that order isn't fabricated. I've only been loyal to the leaf, what have I ever done?"

But his hands bled into a green, into a chakra scalpel and Tenzou only watched him—face revealing nothing. He brought his fingers together.

"The village sure is unguarded while the Uchiha are away at their meeting, aren't they?"

And from the roof's surface shot out a wooden beam curving and sliding through Kabuto's legs. Kabuto sliced through the wood. He narrowed his eyes.

"Don't be so cocky, Yakushi. You should know this—even you are replaceable. Faceless," Tenzou told him, lazily. "In fact, I might not be too good with medical ninjutsu but I myself know the little icky bits and pieces of it. This a battle you can't win. I'm stronger than you, Yakushi."

"Is that what Danzou-sama told you? How sad, you were always his favorite toy, Tenzou. Did he lie to you?"

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.

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"Liar!"

And Sakura thought, if she were born a boy and if she were stronger and if she didn't havesomanyfeelings when she talked to him—if she was stronger, emotionless, commanding respect and authority—Sasuke would have turned and looked at her.

He would have listened to her.

"Liar." She whispered.

But the thing about watching your teammates and their backs was that you knew things about them that they didn't even see. Like the way Sasuke's shoulders tensed when he lied, like the way he told her he was fine when she was worried, so worried—

"You have to tell Kakashi-sensei about that strange mark, that woman—in the forest—she wasn't human!"

"…lay off, Sakura."

"Or I will!"

Just like the way his shoulders tensed when she continued—

"Liar! You are leaving the village? Aren't you?"

He froze.

"And it's none of your business," Sasuke drawled. "Don't get in my way."

It was always protect Tazuna, Sakura. Stand back Sakura. Do this, Sakura. Don't—

"No," she hissed. "No, I won't let you leave the village. You—Orochimaru wants you? Is that where you are going? He said, 'Come to me Sasuke' and you are going? Stop this! Why are you listening to him? You have everything here!"

And he growled back. "You know nothing."

And that single scene with Itachi, sitting beside a comatose Sasuke came to mind. She was fitting it all together, in her frenzy of emotions—

"Maybe I shouldn't be the one you should be apologizing to. Maybe you should be apologizing to your team for being a sorry excuse of a kunoichi."

"I'll scream." Sakura clenched her fists. "I'll scream till the entire village knows it. Because I wont let you give your body to him, because I wont let anyone hurt my teammate!"

And he was behind her, with a swift flicker—his breath tickled the strands on her neck. And Sakura twisted around catching his wrist before he could knock her out. Because she was the copy-nin's student too, and she had seen Kakashi use the same technique so many times before.

"Let go."

"No! I don't care if I—" because Naruto would have said this to him. "—have to cut off your limbs or if you have to cut out mine. I'm not letting you leave this village! I'm not letting you go to Orochimaru!"

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"Man, that Uchiha kid is taking too damn long!"

Tayuya looked back at him.

"Shut up, S-Sasuke will show up. Orochimaru said he would. Till then you listen to me."

"And you supposed to be our leader?" Jirobo asked. "Tayuya-san, no offense, but you aren't leader-material."

"Shut up fatty! Didn't you hear me? I'm leader till Sasuke arrives."

The duo glared at each other.

"Where's Sakon anyway?" Kidomaru asked. He stuck a finger up his nose and twisting it. "I hope that two-headed freak is not—"

He froze. They all froze. They turned around to see a man, standing atop a branch, looking down at them with red, terrifying but amused eyes. But it set the hair at the back of their necks on an end. He twirled a kunai around his ring finger.

"Yo." He tilted his head. "Nice day, isn't it? By the way, did you guys say something about Sasuke Uchiha?"

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a/n: 12345 Juggling multi-char is hard. It's like cooking. Just a little bit of this, just a dash of that and whoa—that was a dash not the whole bottle!

If anything, I learned to stop clinging to bad results and dump them.

And I know Shisui was supposed to make a bigger appearance. I planned him out but the chapter got too long.

 _July 19, 2017_

My gosh, I'm editing out these chapters like a slug.


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing.**

 _One month and twenty-five days_ ago.

The Forest of Death was a thick, overgrowth of intertwining trees.

It was dark, dreary and wet.

It was originally grown by the Shodaime Hokage as a defense against Konoha's enemies during the Second Great Shinobi war. The forest also had certain flora which was thought to be poisonous. These features made it difficult to navigate. There were rumored to be monsters, _fauna_ in there which had certain capabilities which would have rendered you numb. Horror stories sprouted out from the forest. Some said there were ghosts of shinobi who had died prior to their time, searching for their victims.

It was mostly fib. Stories to pass the idle hours over drinks.

But one thing was for sure, many war-torn shinobi agreed on—it gave young shinobi a taste, a lick of the wars they had to fight in.

And if it was intimidating during day-time, it was even more so at night.

Team Seven slept lightly. Especially Sakura.

And Sakura thought she had heard the sound of someone screaming.

She shook out the image from her head.

They slept together, huddled underneath Sakura's soft, blanket to share body warmth. Naruto and Sasuke were on either side of her, dozing off as she watched, warily into the dark. They huddled around the fire that was slowly receding, smoke lightly bearing upwards.

She sat very still. Then something moved over her shoulder, slithering up the bark of the tree beside them.

She didn't think.

She drove the kunai-point into it's head with a scream, startling her teammates.

"What the hell Sakura-chan?"

"Sakura? What is it?"

She pointed at the snake, slithering up the bark of the tree—eternally crucified. Kunai to it's head. Still writhing as breath left it. Sasuke nearly scoffed. Naruto laughed it off, eerily. Like it was not a snake that was lodged into the bark of the tree. Like none of them had to be worried about Konoha's potentially venomous snakes.

"Is it too early for breakfast?" Naruto joked.

And neither did she nor Sasuke, notice a set of large, yellow eyes behind them, illuminated by the glow of the dying fire-camp.

And everything went downhill from there.

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" _Sasuke-kun!"_

 _._

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Atrophy

Chapter 4

And he looked at her.

Really looked at her—in all her scrawny limbed glory, her attempts at trying to size him up, like she was supposed to be his _equal._ When Sasuke felt like she could barely last in a spar with either of them, him or Naruto. Sakura didn't belong in the gory, gritty world of the shinobi and all their power, he thought.

She flailed around with her kunai.

She was always so delicate.

This girl—his _former_ teammate would stop him? The same girl who took up time to blow-dry her hair, complain about practice and take every opportunity to violate his personal space?

But what bristled Sasuke the most was that this girl was in the way between him and Itachi's life.

"Let go." He repeated, severe.

"No." She repeated as well.

"What part of _Let go_ do you not understand?"

"What part of _No_ do you not understand?"

That's when his wrist crackled with a faint hint of blue lightning.

She jumped back.

She held her hand and looked up at him, gritting her teeth. It was a light jolt, nothing too harmful.

"Don't try to stop me." He said simply.

"That's up to me to decide!" Sakura whispered.

 _Fickle words,_ Orochimaru cooed. _Too much talking, be rid of the girl or retreat. Retreat into the forests, you will meet your accomplices._

And Orochimaru was right.

So he turned, and flew past the gates and into the forest, weaving in and out of the trees with ease.

He looked back to see Sakura still following him. She applied chakra to the soles of her feet, propelling herself upwards onto the branches. He continued moving, she followed, wiping away branches from her face and yelling after him—

"Stop this, Sasuke!"

"Follow me anymore, and I won't guarantee that I won't hurt you!" He called back.

' _Put her out. She won't be able to follow. Or I will do it personally, Sasuke.'_

So he twisted around and slung a sharp Uchiha shuriken at her. The projectiles lodged themselves into the flesh of her foot. She let out a shout of pain. She slipped off her branch—and fell.

He hesitated. But kept moving.

She caught herself. She bore on, swerving through the trees—eyes fixed on him.

"You want a fight. I'll give you a fight." He called backwards.

She reached her knee-pocket which was bound with bandages. She pulled out a kunai—sharpened, glinting in the deep purple skies.

"And I won't guarantee you won't be hurt." He drawled.

Then he flash-stepped toward her, launching into an assault of taijutsu. She evaded, danced—moved. Her movements were clumsy. But Sasuke was aiming to knock her out. She parried most of his blows.

But not all of them.

She drew back to give herself some space, breathing space—clutching her side.

He stared at her, his arms dropping to the sides and raised a brow.

"Really Sakura—you intend to _fight_? You can't even raise a finger against me."

Then he widened his eyes.

He whipped around—only to feel her knuckles crack against his enclosed palm. Then, with her other free arm, she pushed a palm against his _neck_ and he felt a jolt of arrhythmic chakra flow.

He winced and he clutched his neck, breathing hard. He could see spots over his eyes. He struggled to retain a foot-hold. He looked back at her—

"What did you do to me?"

He stared at her, feeling his shoulder grow numb. She didn't move. She stared at him, wordlessly. Then at her hands.

"What did you do to me?" He murmured.

She stared back at him. Sakura looked scared, terrified.

Like she'd done something she _really_ wasn't meant to do.

"W-what did you do to me?' He hollered again, more insistently.

' _Foolish girl. She doesn't know what she's doing.'_ Sasuke reacted on instinct, allowing the curse-seal to encroach around his body. It attempted to heal his wound, his bruise.

' _We don't have enough time, Sasuke.'_

Then the numbness faded into feeling. And feeling faded into excruciating pain. He stared in horror at his fingers which were moving by themselves. And they moved into a set of seals which he was never planning to use against _her_ of all people.

"Move!" He yelled, as his mouth opened. "Move Sakura!"

He breathed in, _air_ being sucked in filling his lungs as he stared at her. _Move for once in your life, Sakura. Don't take this blow—not from me_.

She widened her eyes as his cheeks puffed up.

Her fingers flashed a set of seals.

And then he breathed out.

For a second there was a hush.

Then there was a rush—a wisp of a roar that lit up the darkening forest. He could smell the singed leaves before he could see the brilliant vermilion of the flames.

A giant, roaring, fire dragon that clung to the trees and the branches, burning up the world into searing heat and burning the grass at their feet, at her feet—it encased her. The flaming ball was large enough to engulf the trees surrounding them.

And charred leaves fell. And a single, charring log fell to the ground.

She however, had disappeared.

He slid his eyes over the forest, looking around for her—where did she go?

And then Sasuke found her leaning against a tree-trunk, keeling over, clutching her charred shoulder.

His body was moving on his own.

"Let her go!" He said to Orochimaru. It caused Sakura to widen her eyes. "She's _not_ part of the deal!"

' _This girl could have really ruined your chances of_ ever _using chakra again with that trick.'_ He'd never heard Orochimaru sound so…

' _She will pay for that.'_

…angry. Like Sakura would have single-handedly ruined his plans.

And he thought of Lee.

The boy who couldn't use chakra, but only rely on his abilities with Taijutsu. They said that he had a severe accident when he was younger, causing him to crush nearly 75% of his chakra-vessels. Sasuke remembered Itachi mention how ironic it was that the boy was on the same Team as a Hyuuga.

His fingers grabbed her collar.

"S-sasuke?!"

"I can't _control_ him!" Sasuke croaked desperately. "Sakura—you have to stop me with whatever technique you used earlier. He's controlling my body!"

"I c-can't." Sakura winced.

She closed her eyes. She held up her forearms to shield her face.

His fist moved in.

And his fist collided with the crack of her nose. She was smashed through the tree-trunk. And the tree keeled over—he stared in horror.

But there was a crack of wood.

And there was no Sakura in front of him.

Instead his knuckles were bleeding.

And there was a smashed bark in front of him—not a smashed tree.

His eyes were force bled into red.

The deep purple light from the twilight sky filled the woods. A rustle of leaves. A crack of a branch. And he didn't _move_ a step. He stood there, as the world began to clear.

" _When did she manage to put up a genjutsu of herself?_ " Orochimaru echoed his thoughts. " _Girl really thinks this fight through, doesn't she? I suppose that's what happened when she sent her chakra through your body—mess up your nerve signals, your senses. She realized that you had a relapse and began the complex genjutsu._ "

The skin on his fist was beginning to heal with the chakra. And he was urged forward, a deep stride in his step that he would have never been able to pull off.

And he looked around, left then right.

Then he sensed her—standing in clear view.

Her chest was heaving. She was still clutching her burned, charred shoulder. She was leaning against the tree this time for support. There was an odd look in her eye.

Like she was calculating his next move.

And then Sasuke thought—Sakura _was_ one of the smartest kunoichi in his year.

' _Genjutsu works the same way, low-level genjutsu users interrupt the mental capacities and delude them. But that trick would have taken time to perform. So she made a clone while you were distracted—who took your katon. Fooling you with a kawarimi.'_

Sasuke examined her reserves, blurry lines. Her chakra levels were low.

' _Remarkable, but she's out of tricks.'_

"I t-told you. I would _do_ anything to stop you." She sputtered, holding up her kunai. "I'm going to stall you—while my clone gets back-up."

And then Orochimaru laughed.

And Sasuke watched, with horror.

And then a set of _spindly,_ white hands slid out from the tree from which she was leaning on.

They enclosed themselves around Sakura's long, silky hair—yanking her backwards. The hand through the bark of the tree, phased through—revealing a boy with two heads. One on the front and the other behind. The one on the front was staring at her—eyes wild with bloodlust.

"Yo—"

Sakura screamed as he yanked harder.

"—Uchiha," The boy called out, tracing a pointy, long black nail over Sakura's neck. And for a second, Sasuke felt his insides curl.

"Let her go!" He said in a hushed tone. Blood beating in his ears like screams.

He took a step forward, menacingly.

The two-headed boy then rustled down his shirt, fumbling for something.

"Hmmm what will it be then?"

And he pulled out a sheaf of papers from his shirt, waving it. Sasuke felt his insides turn over.

"These are the papers to save your brother from his illness. What will it be, Sasuke Uchiha? Your brother or this kunoichi?"

And there was a thump overhead.

He looked up—at a crack of the branch—standing there, with white robes and zig-zag parting. The boy was gazing at him with viridian eyes. There was something menacing about the boy.

Sasuke curled his fist.

"Don't dally around Ukon. Kill the girl."

"But Kimimaro-sama—it's Sakon!"

Itachi. Sakura. Itachi. _Sakura_. Itachi. Sakura. _Itachi._

* * *

 _._

 _Bang!_

The water-tank over the building was _smashed_ as Tenzou felt the blow of a water-jutsu, blasting him over the roof-railing. He clung onto the bar with one hand and swung himself, deftly moulding the wood like a small barrier against the water—and then simultaneously around Kabuto's foot.

"Do you still go running to Danzou- _sama_ when you get a boo-boo?"

"We aren't children, Yakushi." Tenzou said, bringing his fingers together. "I'm not interested in your drivel."

And the wood encased Kabuto's body, twirling and twining around whatever limb it could sense. And Kabuto slid out of the grasp—phasing out—with Orochimaru's technique. He then flickered to higher ground, crouching beside the smashed remains of the water-tank, creaking as it crumbled over—toward Tenzou.

He dodged it.

"You've been in ROOT for years. Do you not know that Danzou-sama has eyes and ears all over the village? We've been after the snake and its eggs for years."

"And you did nothing about it? You did nothing about the attack on the village?" Kabuto prodded.

But Danzou-sama's reasons were his alone. And he never questioned the elder. So Tenzou kept his eyes, fixed on the silver-haired med-nin's every move. But it was difficult to predict Kabuto's next move, Tenzou thought. This was the same man who had managed to fool the foundation while working underneath the war-hawk's nose.

But as Tenzou gazed at the remnants of the water-tank, he realized that Kabuto's plan to take Sasuke Uchiha had been stalled.

And Kabuto knew it.

"Whatever, our little skirmish made too much noise." Kabuto sighed mournfully. "But I'll say this—Danzou-sama could have reported me to our sweet, generous and kind Hokage if he had any suspicions, no? He could have stopped the Third's death."

Tenzou was silent. He said nothing.

"But he didn't. So who are you loyal to—ROOT or the village? Because Danzou obviously has his own manner of doing things." Kabuto said.

And when Tenzou said nothing, Kabuto laughed harshly.

"I really forget what a puppet you are—Tenzou."

Kabuto then performed a sign for a teleport.

And Tenzou, right on point—pulled out a very sharp three-pronged kunai from his pant-pocket, a single tag dangling from it's end. He flung it—point blank—into Yakushi's shoulder—but he was too late. The old kunai sliced through the wire and into the wooden pole beside the house.

He glared at the pole—teleporting to it as it activated. His body lurched forward. He cushioned his fall.

And Tenzou cursed—sensing ANBU approaching.

"Shit."

He ripped the kunai out of the pole and flickered away.

* * *

.

And Kakashi moved in line with the ANBU squad examining the remains of the building overlooking the west-gate of Konoha. He stepped in line with them.

"Wolf-taichou!"

"Report?" He asked.

"An altercation." The ANBU replied. "The Godaime has been notified. We are currently doing a perimeter search but it appears as if they have defected—

"Move out." Someone called out behind him. He turned around to see Itachi Uchiha and Anko approach him. They both looked visibly upset. Itachi, moreso.

"Yes sir?"

Kakashi raised a brow as Itachi flew past him towards someone at the gate.

"Hatake, that's your student." Anko told him.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

And he swivelled around, looking down at Sakura who was leaning against the gates. Her body singed, and she clawed the gates, the red paint peeling off as her feet slipped. Itachi caught the girl as she fell. He jumped.

"Sakura?"

They felt her chakra waver, significantly.

"S-Sasuke is _escaping_ the village." She stuttered. "This is a _c-clone_ and I cannot hold up for long. But we're stalling him—you need to c-come."

"Release." Itachi told her. "You are putting strain on your main body. Your message is received."

She looked at him, through hooded, exhausted eyes. He stared back at her.

And for a second, Kakashi thought there was something sinister between the two of them—but it didn't matter now.

And she did as she was told.

Kakashi watched Sakura disperse. Kakashi turned to Itachi.

"Sasuke cannot perform water-jutsu and neither can Sakura." He said, pointing to the burst water-tank and the remnants of wood, twining itself around the roof. "And neither of them can perform wood-release."

Itachi nodded.

"I call dibs on the Sound prisoners." Anko drawled. "You bring them to me, alive preferably, Uchiha."

Itachi didn't reply. And the three jounin left.

* * *

.

Orochimaru's plan to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha would have been successful.

The lack of security centered around Konoha's Summer Festival. The village police force was in a clan meeting and ANBU were on guard over the festival area—watching for any discrepancies.

But why the ANBU hadn't thought to guard the gates might have been due to a confusion in orders.

Yakushi Kabuto planted false orders, rendering the path to the west-gate, clear.

Point A was the village gate. Point B was where they were supposed to meet with the Sound Four. And from there, the fourth member of the Sound Four was to leave the document at the village.

And from that point on, the travelling paths which the Sound Four would use, followed by a set of distractions, of codes would eventually lead to Sasuke Uchiha arriving at Otogakure.

But there was a delay.

But _someone_ had successfully stalled both, Kabuto and Sasuke from leaving the village to point B.

And Shisui's fingers around the boy's collar loosened as his sharingan dimmed to a soft black.

The boy fell to the balls of his feet, a member of Orochimaru's Sound Four, Jirobo. Shisui pulled out a kunai—about to slice through the boy's neck—quick and painless.

"No!"

He looked around to see the girl with red hair crawling up to him.

"Don't you _dare_ …"

Her seal grew over her skin as she stood to her feet.

This one was a different pattern from Anko's seal, he thought. But Anko's seal was also thought to be dormant. She had not used it in twelve years—bragged about it. Shisui tried to recollect what she had said about the seal.

"And if I do?" He twitched his lips.

"Because you'll have to kill me _first_!" Tayuya yelled. She reached for her flute.

She paused as Jirobo was left staring at the ground, dazed. All alone.

And he was behind her in a flash, before she could put the flute to her mouth. Her arms pinned behind her back and a kunai held to her neck.

"You are a _child_." He told her, softly. "A child who works for a man who threatened one of my kin. Under what circumstances, in which world and in what situation would I _ever_ let you and your teammate live."

That's when an arrow tore through his shirt and embedded its way into his flesh.

He turned around to see Kidomaru, fingers and arms full of the curse-seal. His sound forehead protector was thrown to the ground.

Revealing a third eye.

Tayuya broke his arm-hold while he was distracted.

Shisui dodged a set of bullets which were s _pat_ out from Kidomaru's mouth—but barely slicing past his skin. And then he heard the sound of an oddly dark, demonic sound, permeating through his ears and into his brain.

He turned back to Tayuya.

"Oi, Tayuya—" Kidomaru called. "This one is a big-fish. He seems strong."

"Why don't you go take a nap like fatty over there!?" Tayuya snapped at him. She brought up her flute toward her lips. She smirked.

He then felt his hands held up, borne down by some kind of bindings.

His limbs were hanging around like ropes—dangling from his bones. It was genjutsu, he sighed. So she was a genjutsu type.

How rare.

And Kidomaru stood up.

"And here I was trying to watch your back, you bitch!" He bit out. "I hope he pulverizes you."

He was holding the bow with one arm—and a golden, sharp arrow with the other. Then he brought them together.

Kidomaru drew back the string.

"Kidomaru has perfect aim!" Tayuya howled with glee. "He _never_ misses! Die!"

And he let go of the string with a sharp twang.

.

.

.

And unbeknownst to the two members, the real Shisui Uchiha leaned against the branch of the tree—watching with amusement as they impaled the clone.

Then there was a shout of anger.

"Where did he go!?" Kidomaru yelled, whipping around.

Their third team-mate remained knocked out, with Shisui's genjutsu.

That's when he felt a gust of wind beside him. And he turned to look at the shinobi, crouching on the branch. There was a flicker behind the Sound kids. Someone with glasses and silver hair, bound back into a pony tail, wearing ROOT garbs appeared.

Shisui had heard _of_ Kabuto—but never had seen him in person. So he could only assume. He was right.

And the two sound genin whipped around.

"Kabuto!" They yelled in unison.

"Where's Uchiha?" Kabuto snapped.

"There was this _other_ nin!" Tayuya yelled back. And Kabuto's eyes widened. He turned around to look at the tree branch where Shisui was on, hands in his pockets.

Kabuto stared.

Shisui pulled out a tagged kunai, discreetly.

And Tayuya and Kidomaru followed his gaze. They froze.

And then Kabuto shifted his attention with twisted disgust in his eyes—right at the nin beside Shisui. Who coughed, slightly.

"If you are here, then I'm going to assume that Sasuke is safe?" Shisui asked, carefully. Itachi was upset—terribly pissed off. It was rolling off him in menacing waves. If Shisui were an inexperienced nin, he would have buckled. But then when he looked down at Kabuto—who barely moved.

Kabuto Yakushi might have been equally dangerous.

Uchiha Itachi said nothing. His eyes were blazing. His breath was hard and heavy, but his face was twisted into a feral look.

Then Yakushi sighed, pushing up his glasses.

"Retreat." Kabuto said, then, averting his eyes towards Jirobu's slumped state. "This a fight that Orochimaru-sama warned us about."

Shisui watched him carefully—pull out a kunai with a tag.

"But Ukon?" Tayuya asked.

"You mean Sakon?" Kidomaru said.

"Whatever!"

"They'll follow." Kabuto said, unamused. "He's got back-up. Kidomaru!"

And the boy in question performed a tiger seal.

"Ninja art: Spider Web Net!"

And Shisui activated his eyes, watching sticky gold webs clung to the trees, sticking to the branches, spreading fast at a tremendous speed. He ripped his foot off the tree. Shisui kept his eyes fixed on Kabuto.

Kabuto pulled out a few kunai out of his sack. He flung it at Itachi and Shisui.

Tayuya, heaved the large boy's arm over her shoulder. And her partner took hold of the other arm and slung it over his shoulder. And with one arm, they made a teleportation sign. Shisui moved away with ease as the kunai exploded against the bark. He expected an explosion.

But instead it was a poison cloud.

They held their breath.

Because it began to dispersed, spreading at a dramatic speed.

Only to be countered with Shisui's explosive tag—sending a shock-wave through the ground, ripping through the nets. And through the splinters of rock, dirt, smoke and noxious gases, Shisui, with his eyes clenched and his shirt cloth over his nose, heard Kabuto call out—

"Pity, Itachi Uchiha. I would have loved to see you draw your last breath."

Shisui then remembered something which his older sister, a former ANBU captain, told him about Konoha's forest region and the people who fought in it. In the wars, Konoha often came out on top—because the environment, the trees were an element that provided them with many more tools than other areas. And Konoha shinobi had grown up in the forests, trained to climb trees and use the environment to their advantage.

And a Konoha-nin's worst fight was _always_ against one of their own.

He tried not to think of what it might have been if he had gotten caught in that noxious, foul, black plume.

"Let's fall back, Itachi." He called out through the cloth over his mouth. "He's gone."

* * *

.

Kakashi-sensei had once used Naruto as a hostage situation to demonstrate a _potential_ scenario.

This was just one of those times, Sakura thought.

She watched Sasuke. His face twisting into horror—the burden of choice weighed on his features. And then it occurred to her. She was always in this situation. Always the— _weak_ -link of team seven. She singlehandedly brought them down.

Of course they would pick out the weak pink-haired _girl_ , the liability. Neither Kakashi, nor Sasuke, nor Naruto were ever placed in her situation—at least as far as she knew.

And she realized why caring about Sasuke Uchiha hurt so much in the first place. Because he didn't trust her like a teammate. He didn't trust her with his life. Because she was weak. Because she always needed saving.

"No response?"

Sasuke didn't move. He met her eyes. She stared back at him.

And that's when the world shattered.

She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly.

 _Fuck_ that.

She didn't _need_ anyone making decisions for her life or death. She told herself she would be _strong_.

Then she brought her kunai over her head, subtly, with lightning speed.

While the two-headed boy was busy taunting him with the papers in the background—saying something about how Sasuke's time was up. Counting down.

A projectile slid past her cheekbone, drawing blood. And it stung. It was a warning for her, presumably from the boy on the branch. The _stronger_ one.

 _Fuck_ all of it.

But her kunai _ripped_ through hair clumped up at the nape of her neck. And then—with speed that she had reserved for her fight with Ino, fueled by her competitiveness—she whipped around and sliced cleanly through the boy's collar-bone. And it drew out a scream.

She wanted to _crush_ the world.

She didn't even look at the clumps of hair now lying on the ground.

She didn't even flinch as the boy, standing atop the branch, had shifted his full attention to her. He was holding out a hand—shooting out projectile after projectile which she dodged with lithe speed with the sudden burst of recklessness.

She slashed at the two headed boy, wildly.

She didn't register the stab of pain in her shoulder.

"F _uck_ you!" She screamed as the boy dodged her. "Fuck all of you!"

Her fueled adrenaline giving her a burst of energy that she had never felt before. She understood why Naruto was so _irrational_ when he fought.

Because anger ignored hesitance, _fear_ and all those ugly emotions.

Her fingers flickered green. She charged at Sakon.

Only to be stopped by Kimimaro—who had gracefully entered the fray.

He said something.

She didn't listen.

She drove the punch to Kimimaro's other palm and the skin on his _palm_ began to _split_ apart, revealing _bones encroaching,_ digging into her arm.

Blood spurted out. She felt pain. She ignored pain.

She forced her fist through forward—his arm was beginning to slacken with the green chakra collected around her fingers. Her chakra was forcing its way through his chakra vessels intercepting his kekkai genkai—

Someone flickered beside her and drove a punch to his cheekbone. She heard the crack. The boy with the white hair flew—freeing her captured hand. She turned to look at Sasuke Uchiha, who was looking at her with something unreadable in his eyes.

His curse-seal was spreading over his skin.

"Sakura…stop." He stepped in front of her.

"Move!" She screamed, tears stinging her eyes. "Move or _go away before_ I make you!"

And Sakon laughed.

"So you've made your choice, Sasuke? Too bad the kunoichi is going to _die_."

Sasuke didn't answer, his fingers curled around a wind-mill shuriken. He hurled it at Sakon. But Sakon dodged.

It returned back.

And to Sakon's back.

Sakura had stepped in front of Sasuke, her kunai parrying the bone-projectiles from Kimimaro, who lifted himself up to his feet. One of them lodged themselves into the flesh of her arm. He kept the onslaught. Bones splitting out from his crevices, frayed like some kind of morbid display.

Sakon screamed.

"Ow! That hurts brother!"

She shifted her attention to him.

And Sakon's body _split_ —o _hmygod_ what freaks—and the other body rolled over his back and ripped forward toward Sasuke.

And before Sasuke could blink—a punch met him in the belly. Hard.

And he keeled over.

Beside him Sakura brought hands together to form a set of seals that she had seen Kakashi use so many times and her palms hit the ground. She simultaneously dodged more of Kimimaro's projectiles, whizzing past her newly cut hair.

"Earth Release: Earth wall!"

An smaller earth-wall erected its way between her and Sasuke, knocking Sakon and the clone backwards with the upheaval of earth. It also barred Kimimaro from continuing his onslaught.

"Tch."

She twisted around to see Kimimaro who had flickered behind her. He peeled off his light, lavender sleeve zip up shirt by the sleeves, down each shoulder. His left arm, which had caught her punch— was hanging limp. Then she watched the cursed seal spread over his arm.

His finger twitched.

He coughed then. Sasuke and Sakura tensed as they watched bones rip through his skin and expose themselves, pointy, _white_ bones.

"Time I got serious. Ukon, eliminate the kunoichi and seal Uchiha—time we ended this battle."

Sakura's vision was growing dim. Her step faltered slightly. It seemed as if the curse-seal had regenerative chakra that circulated throughout their body, she thought. Perhaps she could try and insert more _foreign,_ invasive chakra into his body. She didn't have many weapons on her.

It was the beginning stages of the mystic palm, but not healing chakra, just raw, invasive chakra. Like Naruto's rasengan.

And forming her raw chakra took a lot out of her. But it _would_ stall him.

She bit the side of her mouth, gauging her reserves.

It was better to go down with a fight rather than with nothing at all.

Sasuke stepped in front of her.

"No." She snapped. "Get away—I'm not a fucking liability."

"Shut up." He growled. "You are out of chakra."

And that's just when someone stepped into the clearing.

"That's enough."

Anko walked in so nonchalantly like she was interrupting a tea-party, sliding the kunai around her fingers. She glanced at Sasuke with a rare smile.

"You made the right choice kid."

She then shifted her eyes over to the Kaguya. Sasuke and Sakura felt someone cuff the back of their hair. They both whipped around to see Kakashi, smiling at them.

"You kids have really been through the ringer."

She didn't speak, but her shoulders relaxed, visibly.

Sakura felt her eyes droop but Kakashi caught her by the wrist. He pulled her up.

"Especially you." He said to her. "Good job, although next time I recommend not making clones when you have dangerously low reserves."

She ripped her wrist out of his grasp once she got a foot-hold.

"But you are here." She said simply.

"I'm here." He smiled at her and turned to Anko. "And what do we have here?"

The woman didn't answer immediately. She stepped forward and Kimimaro summoned large _bone_ incisions from the ground—barring him and the two twins.

"A Kaguya and one of Orochimaru's experiments." Anko said. "I know about the Kaguya—this is the last of his kind—" She let out a bark of laughter and Kimimaro narrowed his eyes slightly. "—no doubt, a certain rat would be _very_ interested in him for his collection."

"Now now Anko, you aren't supposed to talk about our esteemed elder like that." Kakashi chided, but without much amusement. And Sakura wondered why he was suddenly hostile.

Kimimaro took one look at them, as if observing them. Then he looked at Sakura, featureless.

"Ukon."

The boy flinched. Although his name was Sakon. The other freak looked up, lazily. "You called Kimimaro-sama?"

"H-hai Kimimaro-sama?" Sakon asked.

"Leave. This is a fight that Orochimaru-sama warned us about." He said. His eyes were on Sakura.

Sasuke tensed beside her, as if he felt the weight of the boy's killing intent.

"Consider this mission…failed."

Every bone in her body could feel the searing heat of his killing intent directed at her.

And when he loosened hold.

She felt the world drown out.

.

.

.

And she thought she heard Sasuke call out her name as the world drowned out.

.

.

.

" _Sakura!"_

* * *

.

The sun had set.

And Itachi caught them as they left.

Blood was beating in his ears. Shisui was following behind him—silent. They both paused, in front of Kakashi, followed by Anko and Sasuke. They dropped to the ground. His eyes slid over to Kakashi, who was silently holding Sakura Haruno—a very worn down Sakura Haruno.

Itachi gave her a cursory glance—not missing the wounds. Then he looked to Sasuke. And Sasuke was much better off.

"All threats neutralized?" Anko asked, cleaning her bared teeth with a twig. "Or was it too hard for the two of you?"

Shisui stuck a thumb out at Itachi.

"Your former sensei's opponents were _so_ hard that I needed Ita-chan's help to take them out. But when they saw Itachi, they ran."

"What? Got scared of wittle Uchiwa eyes? Pathetic." Anko scoffed.

"Oi—" Shisui taunted. "Those 'wittle Uchiwa eyes' will steal all your snake techniques."

"I'd love to see that." Anko drawled. "Provided you aren't dead when you summon them. Have you actually met Manda? He'd swallow you all up."

Itachi was staring at his brother. Sasuke looked mostly unharmed, except for a light bruise on his neck.

"ROOT was there too." Kakashi told them. "That was a bit surprising considering they arrived earlier than us."

"They've been tracking Kabuto." Shisui said, shrugging. "I don't doubt the war-hawk would have caught onto the traitor before he could actually betray the village. After-all, Sasu-pyon had a memorable parting gift from Orochimaru himself. How are you feeling, Sasuke?"

Sasuke averted his eyes.

Shisui's smile fell.

"So what happened to the girl?" Shisui asked, scanning the pinkette who looked so thoroughly roughed up. There were several burn marks on her shoulder. Like she had suffered a damage from a fire-based attack.

He could draw conclusions.

He didn't want to—because Sasuke looked like he was about to break.

"Well—Sasuke will be talking to us about that, won't he?" Anko said, slapping his back—hard. "They put up quite a fight, these two."

"They are yours?" Shisui asked her.

"You think the village would let me _teach? Nah_ , Kakashi's brats."

"You _actually_ passed a team? You? Captain Kakashi Hatake?"

"Sasuke." Itachi said, simply. He watched the boy tense up.

"I lost a bet with Raidou over this." Anko sighed. "Bummer, Kakashi's always been an bad luck for me. We used to bet on him when we were younger."

"I bet you must have put those poor kids and my cousin through hell."

"You praise me too much Shisui." Kakashi shifted Sakura whose head was lolling. Her blood had stained his jacket. "I'm just a simple ninja—"

Itachi then walked up to Sasuke and pulled his collar. And before everyone could move, he slammed the boy against the bark of the tree, _violently_. The bark splintered.

There was thick silence.

"Hey…"

"Why?" Itachi said, ignoring them. "What is wrong with you?"

Every word was laced with cool fury. Sasuke stared back at him—too tired to feel fear or anger or anything else. The bark grated against his back. Itachi's eyes activated—in anger.

"Itachi—" Shisui began.

He strengthened his grip, twisting the fabric of his brother's shirt-front.

"Is your thirst for power so _strong_ that you are willing to follow someone who would rip out your eyes from your skull and leave you dead? Are you so arrogant that you think leaf shinobi incompetent to train you?"

The three other members of the party were silent. Kakashi didn't say anything as he shifted Sakura, who was sliding off his arms. Anko averted her eyes. And Shisui, looked at Sasuke's worn out face, before speaking.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair and finding a particularly nice spot to itch. "Or is it something else, Sasuke?"

"Don't be too hard on him." Anko said. "It's Orochimaru's influence."

"But it was Sasuke's choice." Itachi replied. "Clearly my little foolish brother doesn't trust the village he was raised up in."

"I'd argue that Orochimaru was being persistent…" Anko began. "He's an old conniving, sneaky fart in your head."

"In his head?" Shisui interjected, weakly. "In his head?!"

"In his head."

Then Itachi felt a wracking fit of coughs. His chest heaved as he let go of Sasuke—holding out his hand over his mouth. And Sasuke slid off Itachi's grip, the bark ripping against his clothing as he slid down—feeling too tired to deal with anything.

Sasuke spoke then.

"I found your pills." He croaked.

Itachi froze.

"You're dying." He whispered. "You're dying and you didn't tell me."

He looked down to see Sasuke. There were tears streaming down his eyes.

He'd never seen Sasuke cry since he was five—and he made a resolution to be the best ninja in all of Konoha and make their father proud. He didn't even cry at funerals. He was a proud boy. His father's son. The rightful heir of the Uchiha clan, some said, given his temperament.

Itachi was too soft.

But Sasuke's ego was only made of glass. He was broken.

"Orochimaru promised me that he would heal you. I didn't care about anything else. I knew he would kill me—but it was for your sake." He sobbed. "He knew how to make you better. Make it all better."

Itachi stared at him, unsure of what to do for the first time in his life.

He heard Anko exhaled shakily.

"Like hell he does."

* * *

.

And just like that, night fell over them.

Sakura was knocked out cold. She was lying on the Godaime's couch in the Hokage tower. The Godaime herself was flipping through page after page. She was observing the documents that Sasuke had found, sealed into the flap of the book cover. Sasuke was standing in front of her.

His eyes were averted at Sakura.

"Don't blame yourself for her. She _chose_ to push herself. Past her limits—if I might add."

He shifted his eyes back to the Godaime. She dropped the sheaf of papers on the desk and leaned back with a sigh.

"You're really a piece of work boy. Now, no doubt, the elders will be raising hell about the death of _two_ of our gate-guards. You put your father in a tight spot. And I have extra paper-work and two families to console."

At the moment, the entire village was not privy to the details other than an attack on the western entrance. But his clan-members would no doubt want answers.

"I will take full responsibility for my actions." He said, repentantly.

"But at the same time," Tsunade mused. "You did nothing, except leave—what followed was a domino effect. And we managed to root out the last spy of Orochimaru's from Leaf. So I don't know if this outcome is surprisingly better off."

She stared at him, for a few seconds. He felt the weight of her gaze. Then she spoke.

"There's a reason why I sent everyone out. I wanted to talk to you alone."

She held up a finger.

"One. What his notes composed of is nothing but a chemical formula for a complex bunch of poisons from a Suna-expert who fought during the third shinobi war. It's no doubt outdated, and knowing the hag's grandson—he would have probably upgraded. But your brother is not afflicted with this poison."

Sasuke clenched his fists and widened his eyes. His sharingan activated of its own accord.

" _What_?"

Tsunade continued, unfazed. A second finger.

"Your brother has a _disease_. A slow degenerative disease of the lung tissue which impairs his breathing. He will have to retire from the shinobi force while we get him on treatment. But there _is_ a treatment. We've already started to discuss our options."

She held up the third finger.

"Lastly, I lost a little brother. More than half of my clan lost their lives in the front-lines."

He stared at her.

"I lived." She continued. "When bad things happen, you need to learn to keep going and keep living on."

"Are you saying…" Sasuke croaked. "You—don't have a cure for Itachi?"

"I'm not saying anything." Tsunade said, more like sighed. "Death is a part of life—your comrades will die. Your family will die. Everyone will die. I'm speaking as a shinobi. Your sensei, his entire team is dead—doesn't seem like it, does it?"

She pointed to Sakura.

"And just _what_ would have happened if she died and you found out that Orochimaru's deal was a farce?"

His throat was dry. The room felt suffocating. He clutched at the side of his neck, urging himself to rip it out. His eyes bled red.

"I didn't promote you for your intelligence, but your skill. But maybe next time—try thinking things through before you go through with your plans. I'm not giving you a slap on the wrist. I'm letting you off because I know my teammate very well. Be warned, desertion is not treated lightly, Uchiha."

He nodded.

"And I don't know what consequences you will face after this."

And all he remembered was Sakura's anger as she slashed at Sakon, recklessly. All her hopeless, horrifying, suicidal rage that just—caused something inside him to snap. She _saved_ him from his death. She saved herself. And she _didn't_ trust him.

Sasuke's could only watch her, terrified.

The same pink-haired, girl who flailed with her kunai was one with her weapon. Fearless.

"Your family is anxious to talk to you." Tsunade said, rolling the pen. "Go."

But he looked at Sakura, breathing deeply, dead to everything. He looked reluctant. For the first time in his life, Sasuke was _grateful,_ grateful that he had a team. And that if he could, he would have liked to take back all those thoughts of his team being useless, back.

From his fights with Naruto, to thinking that his team was useless, to thinking that _Sakura_ was useless when they had _both_ saved him.

He wanted to talk to her. He didn't know what he would say.

"You can talk to her when she wakes up." Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I still have to deal with her family and do a lot of paperwork and you are in my hair. One month of D-rank missions not enough for you? Shoo."

He turned around.

"Thank you."

He bowed.

Tsunade's lips twitched.

"Anytime."

* * *

.

And as he left, Shikaku entered the office. He closed the door behind him with a click.

"It's been a tiring day, no doubt, Hokage-sama." He said.

"Exhausting." Tsunade groaned. "I need a lick of alcohol but you've probably hid all my bottles, with Shizune too. Not to mention the amount of paper-work I have had to deal with. ANBU as well."

He smiled, tiredly.

"ANBU usually don't patrol the village. The Uchiha police force do. But I find it impressive that someone found a _subtle_ crack into the ANBU system."

"And he was part of ROOT." Tsunade said.

"He was part of ROOT."

"Hmm…" She said, with a glint in her eye. "I suppose that might be a good thing after all. I guess its time to use this little 'event' as an opportunity to crack down on ROOT."

Shikaku shifted his eyes over to Sakura. Tsunade also looked at her, with rare fondness.

"I'm proud of her, you know? I think you might have picked right after all."

"But apart from that, I have a question for you." Tsunade said, folding her arms. "Shisui Uchiha is back into the village. I know he was picked for guard duty. But this little breach in ANBU makes me question the reason why the Third sent him away in the first place."

Shikaku looked back at the Godaime.

"Hatake Kakashi and Shisui Uchiha, both of them were _top_ agents. I'm looking at their records. But they were both removed from active duty—why is that? Hatake would be better off teaching a plant in my humble opinion. But he's phenomenal in the field. And Shisui in the village would have made my stupid teammate hesitant." She mused.

She tapped her fingers against the desk.

"So why exactly did the Third weaken Konoha's defenses?"

* * *

a/n: relatively shorter compared to my other chapters. But hey—I think I'm going to just take it easy for a bit. I did churn out that fight in a day + another oneshot on Tokyo ghoul called Silent Running (totes shameless promotion).

That fight was a pain in the ass to write.

Also un-beta'ed. I'll come back and edit, vigorously.


	5. Chapter 5

**I own nothing.**

Konoha's rat-infested, dusty records library contained information concerning the administration and history of the village. It was a small building next to the Hokage's residence, overlooked by the Hokage's tower. Guard rotations around this section of the village were often doubled.

Especially during festivals.

Within the records library were several high-ranking jutsu, sealed by the First himself. The records library also contained transcripts of every meeting between the council, the Hokage and the clan-council of Konoha—prior to any law being established.

Section 4 of the law on _Konoha's Kekkai Genkai—_ as established by the First—stated that you could not replicate any technique or doujutsu of the clans in the village's _kekkai genkai_. This was an agreement made by Hashirama Senju to Madara Uchiha over the round table. A promise.

And years later, section 4 had an amendment to it by the Third and the council members, in the light of the Uzumaki clan being exterminated during the Third Shinobi war.

Unless in case of:

 _a. All members of the clan are deceased._

 _b. It is impossible for this particular clan kekkai genkai to be reproduced by natural means._

And the laws of Konoha's _Kekkai Genkai_ were specifically made to honor the promise between Konoha's clans and the village they protected. It was never enforced—Konoha's _kekkai genkai_ users and their clans were always meant to lend their talents and their abilities towards the good of the village.

In the days following Orochimaru's defection, the meeting transcripts were a jumble of heated accusations, pointed at the Hokage, pointed at the Uchiha, pointed at the elders council—by a very embittered Hiashi Hyuuga.

Fugaku Uchiha: _I understand your anger towards this incident, especially citing Konoha's kekkai genkai laws and the protections it offers, but surely the Hyuuga have their own manner of guarding their secrets. The real question we should be asking ourselves is if Konoha will allow the practice of experimenting with our doujutsu and clan kekkai genkai._

There were a few lines of rebuttals, more accusations before the entire document went dead at this point, possibly worn out by some kind of creature that gnawed at the yellowing paper—or the temperature.

Shimura Danzou: _But I have to say—as the Senju clan has gradually declined, the last descendant of Senju Hashirama – Tsunade, is out of the village. Recreating the Mokuton was not an_ unacceptable _act._

Lord Hokage: _Don't even insinuate that the desecration of the first's tomb to obtain the body was a rightful act! Don't even insinuate that the entire practice was right—children have died, Danzou_. _Children_. Two _of his own student who looked up to him and_ trusted _him._

The letters, were grayed out on the paper, invisible because of the crinkles and eaten out words—with the words 'this is a _cruel_ atrocity against humanity!' The records indicated that the Third was held back by the members of the clan-council—as he attempted to lunge at the war-hawk screaming things, faded out by the documents but rooted in the memories of the horrified watchers, ' _we have to protect the future!'_

.

.

.

.

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Atrophy

Chapter Five

"I would tell you this, Hokage-sama. But I cannot." He said, simply. "Because Shisui Uchiha is _in_ the village—and he has had a discussion with the Third over this matter. And he knows things that I don't."

Tsunade thought of the file she had read on the boy. Talented. He had completed all missions successfully. The epitome of a _proper_ shinobi. Which meant he had to make some uneasy decisions? Potentially scarring him? He left the village when he was fourteen? The report also cited him as having a much more _powerful_ doujutsu in comparison to his clan-members.

There was a deep contrast between guard duty and being an ANBU captain.

"Why have you not taken Haruno Sakura to the hospital—I'm going to assume this is a case of chakra exhaustion?" Shikaku asked her, making her put those thoughts away.

(Perhaps she would have to talk to Shisui Uchiha. But later.)

"Haruno's parents." Tsunade said. "I thought you'd like to meet them. They are civilian."

Shikaku stiffened.

"Ah." He said. "Well, the shinobi contract specifically cites an old time war-measurement act that once a genin reaches twelve years of age, they are adult. Technically, any decision that Haruno makes for herself gives them no say—"

"I know that." Tsunade said, quietly. There was a rare tone of humility, a quietness that had taken over her voice. "There's no way to be subtle about this. I want to meet her parents at least once, before I _ever_ have to explain to them why she's dead."

She wondered if the Sandaime, jaded by years and years of wars—ever had to have this conversation with anyone who had lost. She also had a feeling that she had to be honest with herself. Being Hokage was a position colored with jagged gray lines. Perhaps something about talking to the families of the deceased gate-guards and compensating them had stirred up a hazy, but jarring memory of them speaking about Nawaki's death.

Of how he allowed the War-hawk to send Nawaki to the front-lines.

She watched the Nara close his eyes.

"Understood."

* * *

.

The moon was high up in the sky, bearing down on the village. Fugaku hated full-moons. It probably had to do with the stories about the moon-goddess that he was told as a child.

"Did you hear about the clan-head's son?"

"Did he plan to desert the village?"

"Which one? Itachi? I always knew that he would have been a turn-coat."

The two members froze as he drew nearer, soundlessly. Their cheeks were whiter than the Uchiha clan police force symbol over their shoulder, against the beige walls of the Uchiha Police force station. They were illuminated by the streetlamp.

"S-sorry Uchiha-sama! I meant no—!"

"Night patrol. Go take over your shift." Fugaku said, as if he didn't hear them. They clammed and clenched their jaws with a raw fear. "Do not _loiter_ around—there is a curfew over the district while we deal with our little early-evening _problem_."

"Yes sir!"

"What are your names?' He continued in the same tone.

"Uchiha Kenjirou." The man looked young, within Itachi's year.

"Uchiha Ren." His companion said,

"Well then." Fugaku said. "I need one of you to inform the captain of your patrol watch that security has been tightened."

They nodded their heads.

"Also," He added mildly. "Please refrain from wagging your tongues about false rumors. It will not be pardoned lightly, next time."

He watched them leave with stiff shoulders and terrified looks in his direction.

The day had been long, exhausting and tinted with shades of horror. Of what-ifs? Of what would happen if he received his mangled son's body back, his sockets empty—his neck wrung by snakes. Fugaku Uchiha's eyes bled red in anger.

And he strode, swiftly, past the interrogation unit, the empty offices and past the darkened corridors. There was an eerie quite about the place, usually even lonely silence didn't sound so cluttered and angry. He closed his eyes and spread his senses.

He clicked open the door of his office.

Oh, I see.

"Otousama." Itachi's clipped, strained voice reached his ears as he closed the door. He turned to look at his son, standing beside his door. The windows were open. But there was a hush over the neighbourhood. You could only hear the sound of summer cicadas and trees rustling in the quiet night breeze.

A single insect clung to the ceiling.

"Itachi." Fugaku said. "It appears you have something to say."

His elder son nodded.

"Can it wait till we are home?"

And from the look on Itachi's face—he suspected that it couldn't. It probably had to do with Sasuke. Itachi loved his brother, Fugaku mused. A little too much that he coddled the boy.

"You wish to speak to me about Sasuke."

"Yes."

"And what do you wish to say?"

"Forgive my lack of honor." Itachi began. "I want you to stop poisoning his mind with ideas of power—or pushing him over the limit. Our enemies can take advantage of Sasuke—and his lack of love for the village."

Fugaku paused. He took a deep breath. And here we go again, around the mad, mad see-saws.

"Sometimes it's truly noteworthy about how stubborn you are on this matter," Fugaku remarked, dryly. "Sasuke isn't _poisoned_ against the village. I stepped down when you desired that he have a normal childhood. I stepped down when he continued on with children of his year."

"Sasuke is not made for ANBU nor is he intelligent enough to excel. But he tries." Itachi said. "And he tries hard—all of this does not make him any less of a shinobi."

"I didn't imply that he was." Fugaku continued. "Sasuke excels with his emotions because your mother and you have always coddled the boy's feelings. He doesn't know the horrors of war. He is swaddled in naivety. This is a weakness, Itachi. Naivety will lead to his down-fall."

"While the clan plots." Itachi murmured. "I forget how unreasonable the clan is. Sasuke is twelve. He'll require time, and age and maturity. There is no need to push him."

"And today's event? Desertion is not treated lightly, Itachi."

"He did it…" Itachi paused. "He did it out of ignorance. He allowed the Saanin to manipulate him through his emotions. The same sort of…mentality that pervades in the clan-thinking."

Fugaku's eyes flashed.

"Are you accusing the clan of being treacherous? We have years and years of service on our backs—Itachi. I _defended_ you when you were accused of betraying the clan. Are we digging up those seeds of rebellion again?"

"None of you can say anything, Otousama." Itachi said, bland and tepid with sarcasm. "Because I am and will be an asset to the clan. Even with my illness. The elders don't care as long as I bring in the most money to the clan and the village. It's why my health matters, doesn't it? Why the Godaime is in position? Another Senju?"

Fugaku was silent. Then he spoke, lowly, dangerously.

"You are my eldest born. You are my oldest heir. Yet you have no love for this clan—you prefer the comfort of being the Hokage's dog? Petted and coddled with affections and prestige?"

"You are wrong." Itachi replied, coldly. "I have love for the _village_ and the Uchiha clan as _part_ of the village—not for your schemes to overtake it."

Itachi moved past him.

"You know nothing of this village, and the deep dirty secrets underneath." Fugaku said, walking up to his desk and pulling out his chair. "Tomorrow, the blood of our people will fill the streets and you will watch—is this what you desire?"

"I believe in a future for Konoha." Itachi replied. He clicked open the door. "A future where the village and the clan have put aside their differences and these eyes are not valued over our lives. Maybe if I live past this illness, I will see to it."

"That insipid dream will be the death of the clan." Fugaku said with a touch of frost, as Itachi wrenched open the door. "Good thing it's night. And foolishness is always saved for night."

He watched as his eldest son disappeared into the dark. And Fugaku thought that it was ironic, his name was Itachi—his mother named him, it was the first word that came out of her lips as she gazed at her son, reverently. And weasels always bore bad luck, Fugaku mused.

He returned to his work.

* * *

.

And she wondered why Kakashi had never spoken to Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno. They looked deceptively ordinary. They were fussing over their knocked out daughter. She had healed all of Sakura's injuries and had dressed the wounds whilst she listened to Sasuke tell her his version of the events.

She took in their appearances. Sakura managed to get her bright, _very_ bright unnatural pink hair from her father—this much she could glean. He had a kind face, worn-out by work, grinning brightly as his wife apologized to the Hokage.

"Really Hokage-sama," Mebuki Haruno said. "Thank you for taking the time to look after Sakura. She's such a handful."

Tsunade's lips twitched. "No problem."

Mebuki Haruno was a petite woman. She wore her strawberry blonde hair into a bun. Her hands were worn out, her fingernails were short—but she had curiously aristocratic features. Like grey eyes, petite nose and a jaw-line that looked so sharp that it would have cut through metal. Her collar-bone was prominent through the slip of the house-wife dress she wore.

Her eyes were baggy. Her posture held one of power.

Her husband on the other hand looked more like a _civilian_ with long tanned arms, the sun ripe and full in his mouth as he laughed and bright eyes—bright green eyes. He chatted, amiably like Tsunade was an old drinking buddy.

"She's always getting into trouble, this one." Kizashi grinned. "I remember when she was eight, she had just gotten into the academy—and these kids were picking on her and she actually got into a fist fight with them and then I had to show up and it was such a mess! I got yelled at by her teache—remember that honey?"

"He encourages her." Mebuki said, her lips drawn into a tight line. "He doesn't understand that she's a _girl_ and maybe just maybe she'll marry into a good family. He encouraged her to become a shinobi."

"Oh?" Tsunade asked, curiously. "You don't consider your daughter a shinobi?"

And as if Kizashi and Mebuki recognized the veiled hint of authority in Tsunade's tone—they stiffened—but their tone was loose.

"I do." Mebuki replied. "But she's my daughter before she's a shinobi."

Carefully picked words. Carefully spoken out, owed obligations—my daughter given in service to the village. My child I personally raised. My child I gave to you. Tsunade sighed internally, so this is why Kakashi avoided meeting the parents.

Obligation.

And the Hatake avoided obligation like a plague. Especially after the death of his teammates and all his loved ones.

"Understandable." Tsunade smiled. "I suppose you don't have any more questions about why she ended up in this state?"

"My daughter got herself into a fight again." Kizashi joked. "She's alive, which means they got their butts kicked, eh?"

"Kizashi!"

Tsunade smiled.

"And what prompted you to make your daughter a shinobi." Nara Shikaku spoke.

"In all seriousness," Kizashi Haruno's grin didn't fade. "She's my baby girl. But she has to be strong you know? I travel a lot, and sometimes so does her mother—these times, this continent is _warring._ I mean, as a traveler you see things."

"You do." Tsunade nodded.

"You hear things—of crazy massacres and listen to people who talk of their dead families. See, I know this guy—who sent a killer after his brother. The guy didn't know how to defend himself. I myself, lived during the third shinobi war in this small village. And we came to Konoha who offered us protection when our village got caught into the cross-fire."

"Dear, you are rambling again." Mebuki said with the air of admonishing a misbehaving puppy. She patted his arm, fondly. Kizashi rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. His wife turned to Shikaku.

"When Sakura was four, she started developing an affinity for ninja-arts." She said, clipped. "A man, perhaps from the Hokage's office had dropped by and told us of her potential as a kunoichi. I kicked him out. My husband was considering the offer."

"My wife and I disagree on it a lot. But a being a shinobi is a much better profession in times like these." Tsunade's insides churned with…surprise? Ache? "I don't believe in wars. But there's too many men making too many problems and not much love to go around. My girl is soft. But she needs to have a fighting chance, no?"

And neither Tsunade nor Shikaku paid attention to the way Mebuki Haruno averted her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm talking too much, aren't I?" Kizashi paused, laughing at himself as he slid his arm around Sakura and carefully underneath her legs. He shifted her, lightly, carefully.

"It's completely understandable." Shikaku said. "It must be hard, having a daughter who is a kunoichi."

Kizashi only kept on smiling. His jaw tensed, like cables ready to snap and his fears ready to come spilling out.

"Thank you for looking after her, Hokage-sama."

* * *

.

His sister's house was always the same. It smelled of spiced herbs, and baby-powder.

Baby powder was a new addition. Shisui knew that the seals didn't register him a threat as he pulled open the door and stepped inside the dark house. They were both probably asleep, he thought. He slipped off his shoes and dropped them beside a smaller pair of shoes.

He tiptoed inside, his back feeling all achy and pulling his travelling tunic aside so he could breathe easier.

That's when there was a blur.

"Shisui-oji!"

He comically stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. He blinked and looked at the toddler triumphantly wagging a blunted wooden shuriken at his cheek.

"Ha! I beated you!"

"Ehh…" He mock-groaned. "Oh no! Save me nee-san!"

The _child_ in front of him, with _very_ curly blue hair only cackled. He then leant forward and put his small arms around Shisui's neck. Shisui smelled baby powder and a whiff of dango. Setsuna Uchiha bared pointy, sharp teeth. The boy was just two and a half years old.

His sister, Naori Uchiha, leaning against the wall. She reached for the lights and snapped them on. Her modest two bedroom apartment was filled with light, bouncing off the minimal furniture, the box of toys at the edge of the room and the thick curtain drawn over the windows.

She smiled.

"You could have at least written a letter in advance—you know, tell me whether you'd be coming home or not."

"Ah." Shisui said, now idly playing with the boy fingers, batting away the shuriken lightly. Setsuna only waggled his small arms and placed it by Shisui's cheek. "But that wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

"Itachi informed me." She said, walking over to the kitchen and across the island. "There's leftovers—help yourself. How was your journey?"

He sat up, and Setsuna tumbled over—excitedly ("wheeeee!")

"Not exactly uneventful—I suppose you heard about Sasuke?" ("Uncle Sas'kay is a meanie—")

"I heard about Sasuke." She said. "Anko was looking for him. I was with Setsuna at the festival and Anko bumped into me. We then informed Itachi—who was at the clan-meeting."

And Setsuna right on cue, clung to Shisui's shirt as he stood up. He continued blabbing.

"Yeah! Shisui-ojii miss festival! Mama buy me dumplings!" He blurbed.

"I know I did, pip-squeak." He laughed. "Did you save some for me?"

"Nope!"

He lifted the boy who had decided to climb him, squishing his small hands against Shisui's face and managing to prop himself on Shisui's shoulders. He turned back to his sister who was leaning against the island. ("Yahhh—I climbed the mountain!")

"So you weren't at the clan-meeting, were you?" He asked her. "How did you get into the meeting?"

"Yes." She said, twisting the tap. "I barged into the meeting and dragged him out." She brought the cup to her lips and gulped, thoughtfully. "—the clan were pretty colorful about their words this time. Uncle Fugaku was _livid_ till I told him that I was saving his younger son's life."

Her tone was light. Floating like balloons, borne down by strings.

"Nee-san." Shisui said. There was a warning—directed at his sister—about his baby nephew who found his ears especially interesting. Setsuna, sensing a shift in his mother's nature, paused. Naori smiled at the boy.

"It's time for bed-time. You can play with Uncle tomorrow."

Setsuna tugged at Shisui's ears. His nose scrunched up.

"But I want to play _now_!" He tugged harder with every word for emphasis. "He going away. He going to go."

And that might have felt like a punch. Shisui's smile tightened.

"Okay okay." Shisui said, peeling the boy off his shoulders. "How about this. I'll show you something cool and then you can go to sleep?"

"Shisui." His sister said warningly. "He needs to sleep. He's played too much at the park today."

"I know nee-san." Shisui said soothingly as Setsuna hopped off his grasp and scrambled to the floor. "It's just a quick trick."

Setsuna grinned at him. Sharp, pointy teeth baring through his lips.

"Okay."

And Shisui looked thoughtfully for a second, at the lights. He knelt down on one knee before his nephew.

"Oh no." He said, reaching behind Setsuna's ear and pulling out a small paper. "What is this?"

And the boy's jaw dropped and pointed at Shisui, and then looked back at his mother. His mother watched, with a tense look in Shisui's direction. Shisui held up a hand—as if to say that everything was under control.

"How!" Setsuna burbled out.

He held up the paper in front of the boy and rubbed it with his hands. He held his clasped hands together and brought his clasped hands to his lips.

He blew.

Setsuna then watched with wide eyes as he opened his palms.

The paper wasn't there.

"Heeeeh?" Setsuna watched as Shisui took a small hand of his, and rested it on his palm. "What you do?"

"Watch." Shisui said.

He closed the boy's tiny hand.

And then, he opened the boy's fingers, one by one. "Tadaaa!"

Setsuna stared at the paper in his hands with very wide eyes, and open mouth. Then Shisui leaned forward, very seriously towards the boy.

"Listen to me carefully—you can do something with this paper too."

Setsuna nodded.

"Very carefully."

"Okay!"

"Okay." Shisui began. "Close your eyes. Can you imagine the paper in your hands? Now leave your palms wide open. Got all that?"

"Okay!"

"Now imagine a fist, covering that paper— but don't close your fists. Just imagine me stealing it."

The boy, his eyes still closed, scrunched up in concentration.

Shisui thought he looked a bit like his sister, petite features and curly hair. Setsuna had a few features that were not from him, his father, his grandfather or anyone in their family.

Naori who was leaning against the counter, was silent. But he could feel her look away.

So she knew.

And then Setsuna fell, eyelids drooping off with the burst of chakra. It was only a little—but it was too much for the little boy. Shisui caught the boy and the _very_ wet steaming paper in his hands, dripping from his small fingers. Shisui wiped Setsuna's little fingers with the hem his shirt. It was unsuprising that the boy managed to summon chakra. He was an Uchiha.

"Put him to bed." Naori ordered. "Turn off the lights and set the seals in place."

He lifted the boy, looking over at his sister once. Her eyes were trained on the curtains over his shoulder. Like she had expected this. The civilian apartment complex that she lived in was quiet, hushed. He padded softly over to Setsuna's bedroom and lay his nephew onto the bed, beside his old soft-toys.

The last time that Shisui was in the village. He had only seen Setsuna as a two year old. He had sent a lot of letters however, carefully written so Setsuna would get a feel of his uncle. But with each letter from Itachi, he grew more suspicious. No one in their family sported dark navy blue hair.

He wasn't there when Setsuna was born. He'd visited. Itachi said that the boy had bitten him on accident. Hard. At first they assumed it was her little one-night stand was an Inuzaka not some random civilian near Rain.

But it wasn't—because Inuzaka were naturally earth-natured.

He silently pulled his fingers to form a security seal.

The room lit up with marks, surrounding the walls before receding into the sky-blue paint.

He turned to Naori who was leaning against the doorway, watching him, carefully.

"I had my suspicions." He began, softly. "That the man you slept with was not from Konoha. Because none of the people in our village, or native to Konoha are water-natured. We are either fire-natured or earth-natured. Especially anyone of Uchiha-heritage due to our doujutsu. But turns out he's rare. He's both. The man has clan genetics."

And in response, Naori held his look. Then she spoke.

"Anyone with half a brain could figure that out if they observed his behaviour. His long baths. His teeth are not like other children. His hair color doesn't run in our family—but they pin that detail on a random civilian."

"That's why you moved out of the clan district?" He said, his voice coming out pained. "Neesan, how could you do this—Setsuna is the son of one of Leaf's potential enemies—in times like these? What will happen if he grows up? He'll be targeted for his _eyes_ and his unique natural releases."

She raised her eyebrow.

"Leaf's potential enemies? Do you want to disown him like the rest of our wretched clan because he is a half-Uchiha? Itachi and Mikoto are the only ones who show up these days. Are you planning on leaving us?"

She arched a perfect eyebrow and folded her arms. He felt something snap.

"That's not what I mean." He breathed harshly.

"I won't love him any less." Naori repeated. She walked up to him and pulled Setsuna's blanket over the sleeping child, and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Take the bed, you must be tired. I'll grab the bed-roll."

She then stood up and patted his shoulder.

She always did this. Dismissed him like a child. There was always an age difference between them.

She understated things.

Shisui had learned this when he was young. When fifteen-year-old Naori sat at the kitchen table, after their father's funeral and paying bills. She refused help from the clan, bringing him up single-handedly while maintaining their two-person house. He always thought she was invincible.

She wasn't.

There were cracks in the walls of the apartment. There was a leaky faucet dripping into the sink, the walls were egregiously scrubbed and the flooring was uneven. There were shadows underneath her eyes. She picked the cheapest area after the clan elders cut her funding.

"Nee-san!" Shisui snapped, batting her hand away. "This is serious. Who is the man? Are you in contact?"

"A one-night stand. Like I told you when I found out I was pregnant." He remembered it too. Her eyes flashed at him, hard, cold and red. Naori Uchiha the kunoichi—who belonged on the bingo books a mere three years ago—glared back at him, unfazed. "And he doesn't matter. No clan, no one will ever take Setsuna from me."

This was the woman who taught him how to fight.

Setsuna stirred, mumbling.

"…Mama…"

And he fell asleep again.

And both of the tense shinobi paused.

"You are right, it doesn't matter. I won't love him any less if his father is from this village or not." He said.

"Thank you." She said, gratefully. "And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about it. "

"I was out of the village at the time." He said, moving past her.

"Don't pout." She said to him, warningly. She followed him.

"I'm just mad that you don't trust me. Do you still think I'm a _kid_?" He whispered, turning around. Rage etched on his features and his eyes were red. "Setsuna isn't even from the man who you loved. Are you happy?"

He froze. Her face had twisted.

"You really _are_ a kid." She exhaled.

Then she snapped.

"I'm happier than I _ever_ was—being part of that clan. Always expected to live up to father's and grandfather's potential." Her cheeks were heated up. "I was stressed out from the mission. He offered me reprieve. We were _drunk_ silly. One thing led to the other—it doesn't matter. Setsuna is my pride and joy. Dad would be so proud of him. He's going to be a great shinobi and bring our family _great_ honor!"

After their father's death, Shisui never saw her cry, personally.

She channeled her energy into training. And then missions, and then training him. She felt the pressure emanating from the clan. They wanted to get her married because she was Kagami's granddaughter—to continue the line.

He wasn't there when she had a falling out with the clan.

Both siblings stared at each other.

She kept her gaze steady, unyielding.

"And you wouldn't understand why I have lost my respect for the Uchiha clan."

"Dad wouldn't have liked that—Dad and gramps both _loved_ the clan." He told her. "Look nee-san, give it a while okay? They'll cool down. They'll eventually accept Setsuna. I can talk to them."

She didn't answer. He turned his back, opening the door to her room.

"You can overturn their decisions, Shisui—with the _Kotoamatsukami_." His finger froze on the door handle. "But you can't change the events of the past. You can't bring dad back. Or undo what happened in Rain. You can't undo our curse that runs through their veins. Even if they've forgotten what hatred, revenge and retribution feels like—momentarily."

She called after him.

"Remember that."

* * *

.

It was late afternoon, the next day, when Sakura woke up.

The sun's rays bore down on her huddled figure. She cocooned herself into a blanket, trying to rest more—but her limbs sang of pain. She sat up with a groan staring at her toes.

Was she dead?

But she smelled breakfast downstairs. Her limbs were sore. And she thought of how her fight went. She looked down at her arms—it was as smooth as a baby's. Did the Godaime heal her? Did that mean that the Godaime was disappointed in her?

Did Sasuke leave the village?

Did she fail?

There was a light squeak beside her and Sakura swiveled around to look at the person, bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She was sitting on Sakura's chair, looking down at one of Sakura's medical textbooks.

" _Ino_?" She hollered, mouth thick with sleep.

"Your mom let me in." Ino snapped. Stiffness apparent in her face. "I didn't—I mean, I was supposed to wait until you woke up and then tell you that you had to meet with the Godaime. I had just come back from the chuunin mission when Shika's dad asked me to wait until you had woken up and let him know."

Oh.

Oh right, Ino was chuunin.

And of course they would send Ino—of all people—they would send Ino. Just her rotten luck.

Sakura sighed to herself. What was the point of holding petty grudges against Ino?

"Well uh…" Sakura averted her eyes. "Thanks I guess."

Ino nodded her head. Her fists were clenched—like she wanted to fight Sakura. There was an awkward silence. Sakura decided to watch the wall—maybe excuse herself to meet the Godaime.

"Is it true?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You saved Sasuke-kun from leaving the village? I wasn't in the village—but the gate-guards were talking about it and I uh…used my family jutsu to get the details." Ino said. "They said you'd…"

So Sasuke was alive. And she didn't fail, kind of.

"I didn't die." Sakura said.

"You didn't but I thought—I thought I'd lost _you_. And my one and only rival!" Ino's tone grew fiery—but her eyes remained uncertain. "Don't take this the wrong way!"

Sakura stared at her.

"I've _won_." Ino said, her challenging look snapping into place. "I won't allow you to beat me Sakura, not in anything. Not with Sasuke-kun either."

Sakura peeled off her blankets and yawned again. She considered returning back into her cocoon. It was too early (or too early in the afternoon) for this sense of irritation bearing back from their genin years, from the petty squabbles. Sakura felt like she was old now. She wasn't a child, she told herself. Ino made her feel insecure. Sakura hated her insecurity.

" _You have a soft spot. It's not a bad thing. Not everyone is made to be a kunoichi."_ Kakashi told her while Naruto and Sasuke fought in the background. So being a kunoichi suited girls like Ino better?

"Hey forehead—are you ignoring me?"

It was the same thing that her mother told her. That a woman didn't rule with her fists. She ruled with her words, with her beauty and with her grace.

"Whatever, you can sit down and brood with your ugly, large, _ugly_ billboard brow."

"Ino." Sakura called out. "Shut up a second."

The girl derisively snorted and stood up. The chair she had been sitting down on was kicked over. It fell to the ground with a thud, dropping several other medical textbooks with it.

"Whatever, I'm going."

"No wait." Sakura twisted around. Maybe it was time to make things right with Ino. These _petty_ grade-school arguments needed to be left behind in the dust. She wasn't really sure how though. "Listen—I have something to say."

And Ino twisted around.

" _What?_ "

"I don't want to fight over Sasuke anymore." Sakura said. Her insides ached when she thought of the boy—she pushed away thoughts of him. "I don't want to fight over being a kunoichi or being your greatest rival. We all know that you'd beat me any day."

" _What_?" Ino asked.

"I mean I'm saying, let's just stop fighting—you've won, alright. Let's put aside this petty enemity. I'm no longer a kunoichi anyways."

"You are joking."

"I'm not."

Ino flew at her and tackled her to the ground. She felt her sore back hit the ground as Ino held her down. There was a hair-pulling as Ino's longer hair flapped across Sakura's face. Sakura's hands gripped Ino's shoulders.

"Ino! Stop this you bitch!"

"Shut up!"

"No you—Ino _enough_. My mom hates fighting in the house. Did you forget?" She threw the blond off.

"You _aren't_ Sakura. The Sakura _I know_ wouldn't have given up so easily or did you forget how you stood up to Ami all alone?"

"Ino." Sakura snapped. They both got to their feet and she gripped Ino's shirt.

"Listen to me—I quit being a kunoichi!" She snapped.

" _Liar_." Ino snarled. She shoved Sakura backwards. "You are a bloody liar—forehead. You _can't_ just give up because you lost a _match_ at the Chuunin exams. Is it because of me?"

"No—just I don't care if you've won the damn match. I'm no longer a kunoichi. I'm working at the hospital. Why is this so hard to understand?" Sakura replied. Why was Ino acting like this?

She was suddenly feeling very conscious of the noise and the mess—another textbook fell off the desk. There was a clatter of pens from the domino effect, affecting Ino's voice.

"It's because of me? Does this mean _I_ won?" Ino hissed. "I won because you backed out?"

"No!"

"Then what is it?"

"It's not like that, stop being so dramati—!"

She stopped. There were furious tears in Ino's eyes. She took a step back.

"I _trained_ sohard for you. I pushed myself for _you_. I trained hard to _beat_ you at the chuunin exams. I wasn't going to let you _win_! And now you tell me that you've given up? This _isn't_ the Sakura I know. I looked _up_ to you!"

Sakura flinched.

"I _actually_ looked up to _you!_ " She spat out.

That's when the door creaked open.

"Girls?"

Both of them froze at the sight of Mebuki Haruno's face as she popped her head in through the white frame of Sakura's bedroom. She looked between Ino and Sakura.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Sorry about the sound, auntie." Ino said. "Sakura's big books fell over."

Mebuki furrowed her brow and shrugged it off. She turned back to Sakura and smiled.

"So we talked to the Godaime yesterday. She said you joined the medical program? You didn't tell us this? Does this mean that you are no longer a kunoichi?"

There was a stark contrast between Ino's disappointed face and her mother's smiling one. Her mother rarely ever smiled at her since she chose to become a kunoichi and refused to _switch_ out of Sasuke and Naruto's team. Ino's face was drawn together in a look of utter disappointment. Her mother's eyes looked brighter.

Sakura wanted to crawl back into her bed. She'd rather be tangled in her bedsheet.

"No," She said shortly. "I'm working at the hospital."

"Oh." Mebuki clasped her hands together. "That's a lovely opportunity. The Godaime said that it suited your temperament—sweet and careful and intelligent."

She turned around. "I'll leave you two. Are you eating, Ino?"

Ino was gritting her teeth as she stared at Sakura. Sakura met her gaze.

"No Auntie—I think I'll be going. Dad's expecting me."

And Mebuki left the room and pulled the door with a light click. Ino turned towards Sakura's window—ripping apart the curtains as she pushed up the window. She said nothing.

And Sakura thought, watching Ino's hair flutter in the light summer breeze, illuminated by the sun—that Ino made a very cool kunoichi. When you were Sakura—everyone was _so_ bright. Everyone was so _muchprettierbetterstrongerfaster_. And she'd thought she'd outgrown this insecurity but Ino always prodded at the seams.

Maybe. Sakura thought as she fixed her hair. Maybe she shouldn't think like this anymore. She was ready to move on.

"Eat my dust, forehead!" Ino snapped. "Taste the dirt—cough and choke on it! I'm going to be the next Tsunade."

Sakura opened her mouth.

Sakura wanted to say, whatever, piggy, I got to be _the_ Tsunade's apprentice and _not you!_ Sakura took pleasure in that thought. Then she realized that _maybe_ Tsunade wouldn't want to mentor her.

Maybe.

And with that horrifying thought, she scampered over to the bathroom as Ino left.

* * *

..

The air was tense. Shikaku could taste it like the scalding tea which Danzou was drinking. He sat opposite Lady Hokage, while she reclined back on her seat. The rest of the large round-table was unoccupied. The room smelled of heady floral scents.

Shikaku had an impending headache. He hated floral scents.

"Lord Danzou, Lady Hokage," He began. "Thank you for attending this meeting. We have much to discuss."

"Indeed. Can I ask you a few questions, Danzou?" Tsunade cracked a finger, bearing her gaze at the elder who was seated opposite her.

"Is this about Yakushi Kabuto who defected root?" Danzou asked, casually.

She cracked another finger.

"Something like that." She said. "Why was he affiliated with the root—does this mean that he has something to do with the Third's death?"

"Perhaps." Danzou said. "Are you asking me if I was personally involved in my teammate's death?"

So it was the teammate card.

"Did you stand with him to fight Orochimaru?"

"It was a matter of honor that the Third didn't allow me to interfere—rest assured Godaime-sama—the village isn't as treacherous as you might think it is. I have not betrayed Hiruzen."

It actually might have been true. The Third assumed that Orochimaru was _his_ responsibility and _his_ failure and therefore took it upon himself to fight Orochimaru himself. That—Shikaku mused, might have been true. But shinobi were liars.

Nothing was trustworthy unless you could see it.

"I don't believe you would betray the Hokage." She said. "I hope the same honor extends itself to my rule."

"Of course." Danzou said, a faint trace of indignation in his voice. He narrowed his single eye at Tsunade.

Shikaku took the moment to intervene.

"Danzou-san. You understand that we have a public to answer to if two of our gate-guards have been killed in a single attack stemmed from betrayal."

"Betrayal from Hatake's student and Fugaku's son." Danzou nodded. "ROOT had been watching the boy—since he got the curse-seal. Am I being blamed for the crimes of this…boy?"

"Not the boy—but his accomplice, the instigator and potentially dishonoring our clan-laws."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked, furrowing her brow.

"Hokage-sama." Shikaku began. "Perhaps Jiraiya would have been able to confirm this. I'm no sealing master. I suppose that the voice in Sasuke Uchiha's head was not Orochimaru as Anko Mitarashi claimed, but Yakushi utilizing a Yamanaka technique of telephathy using Fuu Yamanaka's technique of using walls to perform the jutsu."

He only could speculate. Shikaku had merely pieced together what Anko had told him. What Sasuke had told him. It sounded faintly like the Yamanaka technique. But it was a probable scenario. Sasuke had told him about _strange_ voices in his head.

The truth didn't matter.

Danzou looked at him, tensed. As if he recognized the trap—if Danzou corrected him, he'd admit to being Orochimaru's accomplice.

"You mean Yakushi?" Tsunade asked, feigning surprise. "He managed to gain control over Sasuke's body?"

"Simply put, the curse-seal contains the power to physically transform but not to _take_ over the body without the owner's will." Shikaku held the war-hawk's gaze.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. And if Danzou didn't, he would have to allow an investigation on root.

"I suppose it makes sense." Tsunade mused. "I mean if he could control Sasuke's body at will—what would stop him from just walking out of the village? This is graver than I thought."

"The curse-seal is a fail-safe. It _was_ a fail-safe." Shikaku said. "In case Orochimaru was killed in action, he would transfer his body to Sasuke Uchiha's consciousness. But consider this—Orochimaru's conscious is whole, singular. He cannot split. Not unless he is dead."

"Just like Mitarashi was his fail-safe—during the night of horror." Danzou said, slowly. "Interesting conclusion, Nara-san. I wouldn't have pegged the village advisor to know so much about the curse-seal."

"I was in charge of looking over Mitarashi's affairs." Shikaku fixed him with a look. "Incidentally the same girl you wanted to incriminate before Ibiki interfered."

"What are you implying?" The elder asked him, with a low drawl.

"And how does a ROOT member gain access to such a high-level Yamanaka technique?" Tsunade interrupted them. "Inoichi is fairly careful."

"A modified technique, perhaps. Yakushi was one of my best ninjutsu users." Danzou said. "Yakushi's crimes are his alone not ROOT's. I honor the Kekkai Genkai laws—and the sharingan will not leave Konoha while I am alive."

"What does ROOT plan to do about Yakushi?" Shikaku asked him. Tsunade was silent, she sipped her tea. "Do you intend to chase him down to the borders of Konoha? Do you know Orochimaru's bases?"

"Konoha has never managed to successfully pin the snake in the past." Danzou said, smoothly. "But perhaps you or Ibiki managed to trace him with Mitarashi's help?"

"All I know is that his plans to capture his next host have been stalled."

"And that there were multiple hosts but perhaps he has an obsession with the sharingan, as with most of Leaf's enemies. Then again, the clan has only brought Konoha more conflict from the birth of Konoha to its apparent disintegrat—" Danzou paused.

There was silence.

It was true, Shikaku thought idly, pleasing the Uchiha—who in return were attempting to appease the former Hokages' with idyllic agreements. There were signs of treason. Paper-work to be signed. There was a report, years ago of an altercation between a civilian man and an Uchiha police-force member. The civilian council was livid.

And then reports that the Uchiha police force-member had injured the man. Abused his authority, some accused. Only did what he had to do, others said.

"Perhaps," Tsunade said. There was a frown in her voice. "Perhaps it would serve us better if we discuss our potential plans for Yakushi. Before we get too carried away."

"Of course." Danzou nodded.

"Let's make a deal." Shikaku said. "On regular terms, you will have to undergo a background check by Inoichi. He will accept nothing less, not with the secrets of the clan being pervaded so easily. He will also desire action against Yakushi. With the Yamanaka clan secrets being spread, the clan would become ineffectual."

Danzou fixed them with a look.

"We don't want _two_ of our most important clans in the village to be violated by not upholding our Kekkai Genkai laws." Tsunade told him.

"Oh?"

"Not to mention, the inclusion of a Yamanaka into ROOT along with an Aburame—willingly. Inoichi has never forgotten this." Shikaku continued.

Danzou was silent. Shikaku could read the man's face, there was a shift in his jaw like he was internally debating on something treasonous. Danzou, he thought, was always easy to manipulate because of his fear.

"Is this a threat?"

"On the contrary it's goodwill. I can rescind Inoichi's control and provide him with assurance that I'm looking into ROOT. Perhaps in return, you can help us find Yakushi and track down Orochimaru." Tsunade said.

"And what do you have in mind, Lady Hokage?" Danzou asked her, as if he sensed that she had more to offer.

"I understand that you have been looking at the medical nin program that I have started." Tsunade said, easily. "Did you see anyone you were interested in? Perhaps it's youngest and most talented participant?"

It was a blunt question. Danzou recognized that he was caught red-handed by the Hokage. He had to answer honestly. Had they been lesser men, Shikaku thought, they would have been intimidated by her bluntness.

"Hatake's former student is part of the program—incidentally the same genin who stalled Orochimaru's plans—Haruno Sakura." Danzou said. "One of my agents were involved in your program, shortly, I must confess. They don't appear to have the natural proficiency."

"I noticed." Tsunade said, dryly. "I receive the attendance list daily."

"However, he reported Haruno's proficiency." Danzou continued.

Shikaku didn't show surprise. This might have been easier after all.

"I will allow you to have Haruno. This is _if_ you agree to co-operate with us. I will approve of ROOT actions on reasonable grounds. Is ROOT reasonable?"

"Reasonable by function. Logical by action." Danzou replied. "I am aware of Hatake's student—but why would I want to take her into ROOT? It's no place for a little child."

"Let me reiterate." Tsunade said. "Hatake did not train her adequately, constantly being bombarded by requests to look out for Fugaku's son and the village jinchuuriki. The girl is twelve. She is overlooked. But she is sharp. And from what Nara and I have gleaned, she has insurmountable potential. Top of her class."

Danzou lifted his dark eye toward Shikaku and then it darted toward Tsunade, as if he was surprised that they were working in tandem. Then he narrowed his eye.

"What is the meaning of this interest in this single civilian girl?"

"I plan to train her." Tsunade said, easily. "But there's more. The clan-heads don't trust you. The village doesn't trust you. Which is why my teacher gave you ROOT—to function in secrecy. You cannot participate directly into Konoha's affairs. But Haruno Sakura will be our link of trust."

And if Danzou violated that trust—ROOT would be shut down. Shikaku added, mentally.

"This way, we will be able to work in tandem to shut down Orochimaru and Leaf's enemies." Shikaku continued. "Just the way the Third intended ROOT to be. While one works in the sunlight to sustain the leaves, the other works to keep the great tree growing."

"You certainly draw a hard bargain. A child who managed to pass Hatake's test, recommended by the military tactician. Trained by the Hokage _and_ someone who managed to stall Orochimaru's plans."

There was silence. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of chirping sparrows outside. Shikaku pulled out papers from his folder and placed them on the coffee table.

"These are her papers—nondescript medic who will be starting in September at the hospital. At the same time, integrating her into ROOT will be of no issue." He pointed at the signatures. "Hatake has completely revoked rights of her. She is no longer involved with Team Seven."

Tsunade handed him the pen.

"This is an offer of good-will." She said. "We simply want Konoha to prosper and put aside the clan-disagreements. I also intend to move past the issues of my predecessors."

And Danzou's lips twitched. "I am starting to believe in your future for Konoha."

He took the pen.

Shikaku smiled.

Checkmate.

* * *

.

When Sakura skid into the Hokage's tower, short of breath, she found someone outside the office. He was talking to the Hokage's personal guards who were standing outside the Hokage's office.

"She just called me in, though." The man mused. He was an Uchiha, she could immediately tell by the fan on his shirt. He had curly, wind-swept hair. "I mean I had some plans today—but I guess I can wait. For a bit."

He turned to her. His eyebrows lifted with a lilt of familiarity.

"Oh! You are the cute little kunoichi from yesterday." He said.

Sakura had never met the man before in her life. She took a step back, warily.

"I'm sorry but have we met?" She asked, politely.

"Yeah, you were kind of out cold." He said, lightly. Did everyone see her 'out cold'? Even random shinobi who she didn't know? She felt suddenly very self-conscious. It wasn't funny. Not as amusing as the man in front of her found it.

Her jaw tightened. Her eyes darted over to the other ANBU who were leaning against the wall.

The ANBU guard heaved a sigh and said. "Taichou, really, don't make trouble."

And Sakura thought that they were all making fun of her. So she pursed her lips and folded her arms, a sneer placed over her face. The other ANBU, who was female, looked at her and shook her head.

"Don't take taichou seriously. He likes fooling around with everyone."

"Sorry sorry." 'Taichou' amended with a light smile. Then he stepped up to her. He held out a hand to her. She looked at it and took it, warily.

"I'm Shisui Uchiha." He said, smiling at her. She froze. "Thank you for saving my cousin."

And he let go of her hand and she stared at her palm. In the midst of the palm was something soft and pink was budding. And the petals twirled around her fingers, rose velvety petals untwining and blooming, filling her hand with a single pink flower. She looked up, there were petals falling everywhere, pink, pretty petals. One of them fell lightly onto the bridge of her nose and _glowed_.

Her breath caught. It was _so_ pretty.

And then she blinked and the illusion faded away.

She gasped. She looked up at him in wonder. He grinned at her awestruck look.

"Y-you!" She began excitedly. "You are _the_ Shisui Uchiha!"

"The one and only?" Shisui quirked an eyebrow. The ANBU snickered. ("Who else?") "I think?"

"I mean! Everyone in the village knows about you—you are one of Konoha's best genjutsu specialists and omgicannoteven you are known as the _Shunshin no Shisui!_ How can I _not_ know about you—!" She said, more like blabbed, her cheeks were warm. "Oh my god! You are like the best thing ever—after Lady Hokage—but like who _doesn't_ know about you!"

Then she stopped herself.

She was blushing to the roots. She slapped her hands over her mouth, trying to cover the damage—she blushed a little too easily. The ANBU were giggling behind a very taken aback Shisui. He recovered and let out a light laugh.

"Wow, you really know a lot about me?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "You are _so_ cool."

"Thank you." His eyes were twinkling. "Really. I'm flattered."

"Taichou looks like you got yourself a fan-club."

Sakura felt like she was about to explode.

The ANBU both laughed harder. Shisui only grinned at her. There was a light blush dusting his nose—embarrassment.

"Sorrry! I didn't mean to embarrass you. I r-r-really r-respect you!" She stuttered

"Thanks." He rubbed the back of his head. He seemed to think of something to amend the atmosphere. "You know, if you want? I could teach you a few genjutsu tricks sometime?"

"But you don't have to!" She protested. "I'm sorry, I was very _loud_."

And Sakura thought that this was the luckiest day of her life. In front of her was the _coolest_ shinobi in all of Konoha who could perform genjutsu at will—who had just asked her if she wanted any tips in genjutsu performance.

"I don't mind passing some tricks along to a fellow Konoha shinobi." He winked at her. "Here comes the Hokage herself."

Sakura whipped around. Down the hallways, followed by Shikaku Nara. Tsunade gave her a rare exasperated look.

"Glad to know you are up, and your lungs are healthy." Tsunade said, dryly. "Could hear you from down the hall."

"Sorry Hokage-sama!" She squawked. She bowed. "Thank you for healing me!"

Tsunade waved her hand with a smile. Tsunade shifted her eyes over to Shisui.

"Ah. Look who we have here. I thought your appointment was supposed to be two hours earlier?"

"The ANBU was late in delivering the news?" Shisui suggested. "I'm not sure. I slept in, Hokage-sama."

And Sakura noted the light bed-hair and the rings around his eyes. Tsunade walked over to her office, she unlocked the door and the ANBU flickered away, presumably to guard the office from the outside. She clicked it open.

"Well—I hope you don't have any plans." She said.

"No Lady Hokage." Shisui said immediately.

She paused, looking back at the Hokage who wasn't looking at her anymore. Tsunade and Shisui entered the Hokage's office.

"Sakura. I wanted to see you." Shikaku placed a hand on her shoulder. His voice broke through her thoughts. "Follow me. Have you had lunch?"

She shook her head.

"I came as fast as I could." She replied. He gave her a tentative smile.

"I've let my wife know that we have a guest. Come on, hurry."

He walked faster, down the spiraling staircase still speaking.

"By the way—" She scampered to catch up with the older Nara. "—congratulations. You are officially Lady Tsunade's apprentice and inducted into ROOT."

Sakura nearly stumbled over the last few steps.

* * *

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And back in the Hokage's office, Shisui noted that Lady Tsunade was every bit as terrifying as Itachi described her as. She held herself like _Hokage_ should have. Her heels clicked against the office floor, reverberating. There were papers and more papers strewn over her desk, he could read some of their titles as 'Building Materials Expenses'.

The Hokage's office during day-time was much friendlier than it was at night—he always visited at night, in the twilight—when the village was growing silent. But in those days, the Sandaime occupied the seat.

"I truly haven't had the chance to meet you." She began. "Welcome back to the village."

"It's a pleasure to be back." Shisui nodded.

"How was the journey?"

"Uneventful." He said. "I ran into a few bandits. But my flee-on-sight status really lends itself to my name."

"It's as impressive as our former Hokage." Tsunade's lips lilted into a smile. "I knew your grandfather. He was a tremendously kind person. Pity about your father, I didn't have many opportunities to meet him. Sorry about your loss."

"It's no problem." Shisui replied quietly.

There were rumors about Lady Tsunade when he was travelling—about how ANBU complained about her avoiding them like the plague. He wasn't paying much attention at the time. He was far too busy with other issues like—

"I'll cut the chase." She said. "I read your records. I'm rather disappointed in your position as the Fire Daimyo's guard. I could restore you to your rightful position as ANBU captain in the village but before that, _did_ you chose this particular offer?"

She was also very sharp.

"Yes." He replied. "Lady Hokage—I'm going to assume that the Third left you a letter?"

Tsunade paused.

She then reached into her drawer and rustled through papers followed by some _clinks_ —he assumed they were bottles—and finally she pulled out an envelope. She handed it out to him and he took it. He recognized the Sandaime's handwriting with a stab of grief, just like he remembered it, cursive, crafted and careful.

"Is this what you are talking about? Shikaku asked me to keep it, I might have been a bit careless with it." She admitted.

"There's actually a powerful seal on the letter." Shisui told her. "It contains the village's S-class secret about the Uchiha clan and the man who set the Kyuubi on the village. The seal is a blood seal. It reacts to my blood. This letter is also the reason why I returned to the village."

Tsunade blinked.

Then he brought a thumb to his teeth, and bit into his skin. He then brought it down to the paper and pressed his thumb gently against the long letter. And then the envelope, glowed and the black faded into white which bled into black, revealing more writing. He handed it to Tsunade.

Tsunade creased the folds.

And she read.

* * *

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A/n:unbeta'd. Will edit. Vigourously

This weekend has been horrible. If you guys need someone to talk to, I'm here, okay? It kind of dampened my inspiration, my mood and my interest in anything apart from refreshing my newsfeed.

Apart from that, some of you might have noticed an issue with police brutality in this chapter—supposedly between an Uchiha Police member and a civilian. I noticed I was stepping in tetchy waters (given recent events) when I wrote that out. But consider this, it is very much canon. Madara stated that there was conflict festering between the Uchiha clan and the village for _years_. Its not as if all police officers would have abused their power. It's also not as if all civilians or members of the Hidden leaf were resentful. If it's not present already, I'm not looping all _uchihas_ or _anyone_ into a cute little collective group. They all have conflicting, nuanced ideas. The dynamics at play are very different from current real-life discourse.

Also, there's an odd power-play between the Senju government and the Uchiha clan. This is also canon, with the whole Sakura vs Sasuke thing or the Naruto vs Sasuke thing or even Naruto vs Sakura. Team Seven parallels larger dynamics at play with the whole—Village vs Pariah vs Vilified Clan.

Especially when I watched the Sakura vs Sasuke game fight and one of the voice-lines was "Do you really think you can defeat one of the _uchihas,_ Sakura?"

wtf was that supposed to mean


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing.**

 _a/n:_ Warning for suicide, school-yard bullying, severe bullying, sucky adulting, death and violence. I may mention it in a line or two or three, but I don't actually explore the icky bits and details with a flashback. Reader's discretion is advised.

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* * *

 _Then._

It was one morning, when Sakura had gone off to visit _Sasuke-_ kun (at the hospital, she said), that Mebuki Haruno took advantage of her daughter's absence to clean out her closet. Mebuki liked cleaning. Cleaning relaxed her, to see all those little, tiny taunting balls of dust be wiped off the surface of her house—there was something _cathartic_. This was probably an invasion of Sakura's privacy. But really for the sake of eradicating species yet unknown to man and the dignity of Sakura's closet, Mebuki decided to take the plunge.

And between old textbooks, shinobi _stuff_ , messier piles of clothing—Sakura was a _slob_ —she found a dirty dress.

She froze.

It was white, with pretty yellow flower print.

But it wasn't the color of the dress that bothered Mebuki, nor the state of the dress.

She folded the dress as her husband walked into the room. One fold.

"Honey—have you seen my pair of glasses?"

Two-folds. "It's on your head, darling."

"Oh!" He chuckled, peeling the pair off his head. "Well then."

And she merely smiled and he cleaned the glass-lens with the fabric of with his shirt. He put it back on his face and blinked. Then he grinned at her. Then she folded the dress again and held it against her.

It's safe to say that her husband wasn't an extremely sentimental man. He also wasn't in the most delicate of minds.

"Dear, do you remember Sakura's eighth birthday?"

He looked at her and frowned. "Eh?"

"Do you remember what she wore." She looked up, clenching the soiled yellow fabric tighter. "Do you remember what she wore for her birthday?" She repeated as if he didn't hear her. But he did, and he was frowning to himself like she had just asked him something weird.

He blinked at her. "No. Was it something important?"

A beat.

"No it's nothing important."

If Kizashi Haruno noticed anything weird about his wife, he shrugged it off. His mind was on better things.

"I have great news for us."

The light from the windows warmed Sakura's room, and Sakura's chair—which was marked with black scribbles of her name. There were hearts and star stickers on the walls, and the dresser was cluttered with hair-products, pins, ninja gear, a messy, tangled hair brush and lotion.

Kizashi was silent for a beat, waiting for her to turn to him, to ask him _what_.

But Mebuki never shared the same excitement levels as her husband.

"Dear, is there something you want to say?" She indulged him, anyways.

And his eyes light up.

'I've been meaning to ask you—I have this idea for us, for the family." He began. Mebuki waited. He grinned at her. He'd been trying it. For _years_. "And we can leave the village, invest in a new business in one of the local villages. I can settle down—you know? There's far too much competition in Konoha. But just think about some where nearby."

It never worked because each _idea_ would burn out as quickly as it would have come. There was something, she thought, always something about the bright, cheery hope that her husband clenched onto that drained her out. Perhaps that's what she got for falling in love with a dreamer. His eyes were always too full of sun. His feet were never on the ground.

"What do you think of a new start?"

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Atrophy

Chapter Six

Shikamaru often described his mother as 'troublesome'.

Sakura overheard his conversations with Chouji because she sat rightnext to them in the academy. His mother nagged at him for his homework, for his lunch, for _not_ eating his lunch, for getting complaints from the teacher, for _not_ getting comments from his teacher.

And the list went on. But frankly put, Sakura thought Yoshino Nara was one of the sweetest, nicest persons she had ever met.

"Hello Sakura-chan! How are you— _oh_ you eat so little—" She ladled another serving onto Sakura's plate. "—there we go! I wouldn't watch your figure if I were you. You are _so_ —Darling!" She switched her glance at her husband with a glare. " _You_ need to lay off the second serving! We talked about this!"

That's when Shikamaru himself, entered the homely kitchen. And all the _homely_ feeling in it dissipated when she realized that she was in the home of one of her old _class_ -mates.

He blinked at her. She didn't know what to say. The adults in the room didn't seem to notice their tense looks. Seem being the keyword. Or maybe it was one of those _childish_ things that they ignored.

It was a bit awkward.

"Ah." Shikaku broke the silence, stroking his beard. "Do the two of you know each other?"

"We were in the same year, father." Shikamaru replied. He took his seat.

"Oh that's true." Shikaku replied. "You were in the Uchiha's year."

Sakura sent Shikamaru a tentative smile. He replied back with a nod—a slight nod. She doubted that he even remembered their little argument at Ichiraku. She didn't even think it would have affected him. He could say things and he would forget them as easily as he'd said it. Which is why she _really_ didn't like him at all.

So young Sakura always thought, what's the point.

 _Sticks and stones can hurt my bones_ —

"Well," Shikaku began standing up. "We have things to discuss in my study, Sakura. Are you finished?"

His son looked up, curiously at the two of them but didn't deign a proper question. Nor did Shikamaru's mother. It might have been normal business in the Nara household. Sakura nodded, Yoshino picked up her plate with an unreadable smile.

"Go ahead sweetie."

She half-tripped over the table leg. He led her past the corridors, and then into an office—which appeared to be more of a library. It smelled of incense and old moss. And that did not come off as strange to Sakura—the Naras were dealers in medicines, herbal practices and teas. Her mother adored the Nara clan's teas.

Shikaku's office was a simple thing, even the furniture was minimalistic. Shikaku Nara was a minimalist. All else was too troublesome. There was the tapestry on the wall containing the engraved, black Nara clan symbol. The air smelled fresh, everything was clean and the bookshelves were color coded.

The color-coded, controlled nature of her surroundings relaxed her.

She sat on the seat facing his desk.

Shikaku pulled down the blinds and the room glowed with seals. He shut the door, locked it—there was a stiff silence in the room as she swung her feet back and forth. Waiting.

Then he spoke. And she stopped.

"I'm sure…" Shikaku began. "You must be tired."

Her back was still sore. Her body was still all achy but she was determined enough to ignore it. She shook her head and bared a grin.

"I'm okay."

He continued.

"The Uchiha are in your debt because of your actions last night. It was...truly a remarkable achievement."

"I only did what I was supposed to do." She replied, modestly. "I only saved Sasuke because he saved me once too. He was my teammate."

"Was?"

"He's no longer my team-mate." She frowned.

Shikaku regarded her for a few moments. He continued then, as if thinking the better of whatever he wanted to say.

"Tell me what happened."

And she did. Everything from the strange man at the academy who was supposed to be one of her class-mates to the fight in the forest. And the only thing ringing through her head was the way Shikaku's eyes filled with a sort of wonder, or was it praise.

"Impressive."

She scratched the back of her head with a flushed grin.

"But I wouldn't have put it past anyone to watch Sasuke Uchiha. We were all aware of how Orochimaru would behave. We placed seals over his home and we made sure that no one would be able to leave without us knowing."

Sakura waited.

"Anko had been keeping tabs on the boy, as well as a great many others. Including Danzou."

Sakura raised her eyebrow. Sasuke was _that_ important, huh?

"What do you know about Sasuke's curse-seal?"

"It's a type of fuuinjutsu that is applied to the body," She replied. "A body tattoo designed to make Sasuke stronger—his Katon jutsu was very powerful." She remembered his fight with lee at the preliminaries. And then the way he was stopped by _four_ jounins—including his brother.

Then she remembered the brilliant vermilion of the flames, lighting up the dusky, dark forest. She'd never seen anything so beautiful. And so _deadly_. She was lucky that Sasuke couldn't tell a genjutsu apart from the real thing without his sharingan or she would have been seared alive between those flames.

She was scared.

"Do you think he wanted to kill me?" She said in a small voice. "I was just trying to stop him—I didn't know he wanted to save his b-brother. But even—"

"Orochimaru lied. The cure for Itachi Uchiha was purely a farce." Shikaku said, remorselessly.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Then he would have…"

"Sasuke Uchiha owed you more than he knew." Shikaku nodded. "There was an old rumor that an Uchiha do a lot for one of their own—too much. They don't think. They just act on their desires to save. I don't think the desire to act stupid is genetic though, consider several examples."

Sakura was an only child. She would probably never understand how Sasuke felt about his siblings, but she could imagine the state he would have been in. But what could she do? Her memories of Itachi were only angry words and scathing wishes and hot summer days.

She dug her nails into the flesh of fist.

"Um. I have a question about Sasuke-kun's brother." She asked. "Do you think his brother—" She paused. "—is sick because of his ANBU missions?"

"We do not know." He replied, simply. "The Godaime is looking into his disease."

"What do you know?" She asked, prodded. "I don't mean to _pry_ —"

"Only that Uchiha Itachi was one of the candidates to be Hokage." Shikaku said. "You know what that means?"

Sakura's eyes widened.

"You mean— _you mean_ he's being _targeted_?" Her jaw dropped open.

"That's what we'll find out, won't we?" He said easily, as easily as he drummed his fingers against the desk. It made her blood run cold.

 _We_?

"After all, the man you will be working for would love to eliminate any threats in his way for position, power or anyone in his way to the seat of Hokage."

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* * *

And the Third's letter, detailed a very different Konoha, a Konoha in the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack.

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And in the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack, Shisui remembered there being whispers of the village speaking against the fourth's son. They defaced the outside walls of the orphanage. He remembered his sister hug him and told him that it was _not_ his fault that papa died.

His memory was fresh with the sharingan as he narrated the set of events to the Hokage.

He had watched his father pause in his step.

He then watched his father then move forwards in a frenzy towards masked intruder, who had swirls for a mask. Something had gone wrong when the world, the sky around the figure had twisted, like the swirling of the drain—sucking his father into this hole in the sky.

Then there was an explosion.

He closed his eyes. He used his arms to bar himself from the force of the explosion.

He couldn't look any more at the blood splattered _murder_. His _funny,_ loving father. He could not—

Shisui didn't remember much of the discussion apart from the way his sister, his rather mean, loving, caring, goofy older sister had taken on a different disposition when she spoke to the Hokage.

"I have to warn you." Young Naori Uchiha said. "My father wasn't exactly trusted for being the Hokage's lapdog. Neither was my grandfather. My father had the Mangekyo Sharingan, as you are aware." She said.

The old Hokage blinked.

"And if Jiraiya-san who came to visit us shortly is correct." She continued. "The second level of the sharingan—which Shisui himself possesses over here—could be responsible for influencing the Kyuubi. The way of the Uchiha cites that you receive it due to the death of a loved one, however—" She paused as her eyes swirled around into dark patterns and red lotus petals. Shisui's breath caught. "—it seems as if trauma alone might be a trigger for the Uchiha doujutsu for others. I wasn't in the surgery room when my mother died. But I saw her corpse."

Hiruzen Sarutobi listened as she continued.

"My father has kept my mangekyo a secret for years. However, this is not the case for my brother—I arrived late on the scene. The clan is talking. They are speaking of him—they wish to take him into their ranks. The elders are plotting, Hokage-sama."

The implications were unsaid. It was no secret that the Uchiha clan often demanded tougher missions _for the glory of the Uchiha clan_. Naori didn't want him to have that life—but she had no say in it unless the clan abandoned him.

"I understand." The Hokage said. "And you believe that Naruto Uzumaki would be in danger from Shisui's mangekyo. That he is a _bargaining_ chip in case the clan plans to overtake the village?"

"We don't have many sharingan users within the clan, despite the elder's efforts to inbreed the clan-members. The secrets that they possess of the clan's doujutsu are wrong." She said. "I want to protect my brother like my father protected me."

And Shisui remembered the way she tightened her fingers over his.

"Thank you for telling us these secrets," The Hokage said. "Are the two of you willing to continue the work within the village?"

"We will continue our father's work." Naori replied. "His heart lay with the village."

"Then I will continue to look out for opportunities for the two of you." The Sandaime eyed him. "Perhaps for your brother—moreso. I can't guarantee that you won't be pressured in your brother's stead or that your life will be easier. Can I ask you to keep an eye on your clan-elders?"

Naori had inclined her head in respect and said. "Yes Hokage-sama."

"For Konoha's sake." The Hokage amended, breathing out.

"For the sake of the village." Shisui remembered her say.

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* * *

Years later, when the clan and the village were beginning to come to a sort of impasse, the Hokage had learned that the clan was either _cursed_ or a bunch of blithering fools. He was the professor—he believed in logic, first and foremost and then, in the retribution of the gods. But there was always _something_ , perhaps a seed of conflict planted right into the heart of the clan.

But by logic, he would look at current dealings between the clan and the village. The Uchiha had their own district, on the out-skirts of the village—this alone was an indicator for the rest of the village. And _very_ few non-Uchiha folks visited the district.

The tension between the clan and the village was running high.

There was a certain altercation in the Academy between a civilian and an Uchiha Police member.

The civilian had shown up at the academy on the 29th of March on the eighth year after the Kyuubi attack. He was yelling at the teachers over something—over their inaction. The man was a civilian. He slammed his hand on the teacher's desk. The teachers remembered trying to calm him down.

But when it was clear that words weren't working and he wanted, _demanded_ to speak with Iruka-sensei, who wouldn't stop his class in session.

He threatened to break down the door.

He wanted an explanation as to why his daughter was being bullied.

"Why am I sending my child to this school if they do not know that my daughter was told to _kill_ herself? Where were you when she was being pelted with rocks? Are they teaching students respect or how to be _bullies_?"

Then he continued, hurling insult after insult. The academy teachers had flagged down the Uchiha police force. And after—the door opened—the man turned around to see the swirling sharingan eyes and he was promptly knocked out. And while he was caught in the midst of the festering nightmare, grasping his neck and screaming, he was knocked out.

"Does he expect his daughter to be treated like a flower?" The officer turned to them, when one of them turned to stop him. "He needs to know the _horrors_ of our life. You are raising _killers._ "

The Uchiha then teleported away with the man in tow.

And then, parents started talking, talking about how the Uchiha police force had knocked out one of the parents.

"But what if they hurt our children?" One of the mothers, holding the girl—Ami, said. Her daughter stared at her feet.

"And our own children cannot fight back!" Another yelled.

Sasuke Uchiha was being led away by a stone-faced Itachi, away from the looks that were sent his way.

"The civilian council needs to be made aware of this! They are _abusing_ their authority and power!"

It was a rather excitable day at the Academy, a half-day.

Iruka-sensei had to finally broken class to speak to the teachers. The academy had been let out early. And everyone saw the sloppy orange paint that was smeared over the fourth's cheekbone and down to the Third's chin. Naruto Uzumaki had taken advantage of the chaos to smear his 'message' on the Hokage's cheek.

Shisui was the one who got the kid down. The Hokage's face was scrawled sloppily with 'Ha-ppy Birthday'. But no one had any idea whose birthday it was because he didn't complete the job. Finally, when he got the boy to the Hokage's tower—there was a bee-line for the Hokage's door.

"Stay here, Naruto." Shisui told the boy, dragging him by the elbow with a reproving glare. The boy stuck his tongue out at him. The ANBU in front of the office watched the duo, puzzled. They then flinched when Naruto turned his glare on them.

And Shisui faintly heard the sound of a loud, booming voice inside.

"Tell me why—why would I continue sending my daughter to the academy?! Your teachers are _incompetent_ —I've just been _humiliated_ by an Uchiha police force member for asking for my _rights_ as a parent—"

"You cannot break down the door in the middle of a class."

"And how are you going to _undo_ the damage—Hokage-sama? I deserve compensation from this humiliating set of events."

That's when an ANBU appeared beside him.

"Uchiha-taichou, your missive."

Puzzled, Shisui read.

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* * *

Tsunade rubbed her forehead as she read. Her head spun. Her feet shook.

"And just what can your sharingan do to someone?" She croaked, shakily.

"It can change someone's intentions and manipulate their wills." Shisui answered. "I was ordered to overturn the civilian's confession and the decision of the civilian clan council—lest they hurl more accusations against the Uchiha clan. And vica-versa, if the clan thought that the Sandaime was allowing the civilian council to be too bold."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"Danzou was moving. Sandaime assumed that Danzou was plotting against the clan. But you could never be sure. After all, the Uchiha records of the police office who was called to the officer was…unrecorded."

"So what's _record_ ed?" Tsunade asked, irritably.

"A good shinobi leaves no trace of being there. I wouldn't put it past one of my own clan-members to do this." Shisui smiled, wryly. "The thing is, police force members are instructed to deal with civilians using their hands. It's not tremendously difficult to put out someone untrained in the fighting arts. You need a blow to the neck to put them out—or perhaps incapacitate them using taijutsu. Lock their arms in place. You use your _judgement_."

"Yes." Tsunade continued. "So this civillian…" She paused, trying to collect her voice. "He—he was subjected to the sharingan, twice."

"Kind of." Shisui said, a hint of weariness. "He doesn't have the _correct_ memory of the incident or of his words. I had to overturn his decision to complain to the civilian council. We even overturned the academy teacher's version of the incident."

Tsunade nodded.

The boy once again reminded her of her teacher's teammate, Kagami Uchiha. He had the same looks—the same curly hair and the glint in his eyes. As part of being in Team Seven, and sharing the legacy, he had suggested some chakra control exercises. She remembered the way he taught her how to make a leaf stick to her forehead.

He was also good friends with the Third. And he got along best with Orochimaru—much to everyone's surprise.

"Hmm…did the mission go successfully?"

"Very. Nothing beyond my calibre."

"Then I suppose that there are a few people who are aware of the _truth_ and don't approve."

"You are right." Shisui shook his head. "I think now, perhaps with the changes I have made in Konoha—including overturning several decisions of the clan, I think there is something as a necessary evil."

"Elaborate?"

Shisui then said slowly, "Peace in this village has been attained because the _choices,_ the reasons and the underlying decisions have been overturned. All because of the sharingan—so sometimes I think its great because there's so much peace. Then I believe…"

Tsunade waited.

"This peace has no freedom." He said.

That was true. It was either peace or freedom. And for the sake of civilian blood, funds, money towards the village—

"Obviously." Tsunade snorted. "I don't believe in a _truly_ peaceful Konoha that my grandfather believed in—this old bag of bones has seen too much fighting. For Konoha, and its inhabitants—I can only protect them, I can do nothing else. You can only overturn their decisions."

"For peace in Konoha." Shisui said firmly, as if he was trying to convince himself of the truth.

"For peace in Konoha." Tsunade continued. "Just as your father and his father have served the village."

"Also, the letter continues on to say—I was attacked on the twenty-fourth of December, shortly after I was returning from a mission—a solo mission to the land of waves. My attackers were ANBU. ANBU root."

Tsunade clenched the letter, hard.

" _What?"_

There was an amused glint in Shisui's eyes at the crumpled letter.

"Well—you see…" He held up his hands as her face curled into a snarl. "There are some people who were made aware of my mangekyo. But most people don't actually know what it _does_. Shimura Danzo was aware."

"I see." Tsunade leaned back and drew out, exhaustedly. "A _good_ shinobi leaves no trace of being found."

"And that's why we don't have _evidence_ to prosecute him." Shisui continued, his amusement growing at the darkening look the Hokage sent him. "They had no head-band. We have reason to _suspect_ the war-hawk but no _solid_ hard evidence."

"So the Sandaime sent you away from the village."

"It's an undercover." Shisui said. "My true mission was to investigate the _Akatsuki_ and pass on information through Jiraiya's spy-network. It wasn't very hard trailing the members. I have the list of members for you, as well. Two, was to watch over the Fire-daimyo and his family but most people are not aware of that true portion."

"And how did you manage to secure the first part."

"We travel often. He travels to other countries—which makes it incredibly easy for me to move around, undetected."

"And what did you find?" She asked.

"They have been mostly inactive, building funds I suppose. I've been tracking their missions. I trust you've heard of some of them—Akasuna no Sasori, Deidara of Iwa, Kisame Hoshigake—as of recently a man called Hidan. Itachi too has been approached, he declined." Shisui spoke. "I was approached as well, I declined as well."

"And their messenger?" Tsunade asked.

"A woman called Konan." She stilled. "She could manipulate paper, and she contacted us through a paper flower."

 _No it couldn't be._ She thought. It was so long ago and they were a bunch of orphans in Ame. _It_ really couldn't be. Jiraiya had lost touch of them—all _of_ them. It couldn't be. But then again, she didn't know much about the three orphans who asked the three legendary Saanin to teach them. Only Jiraiya's heart bled enough to teach them.

"What do you think is their goal?"

"The fact that she approached two Uchihas—both with awakened mangekyo—assumes that they might actually be aware of the secrets surrounding the Kyuubi."

"Noted." Tsunade said. "Continue to keep an eye on them...I suppose. And really, Shisui, I assume you cannot return to the village without the war-hawk being removed?"

And there was only one way for the war-hawk to be removed—pure, _hard_ evidence.

"I would fear for my sleep." Shisui said, blandly. "But let me allow you into another secret Hokage-sama."

"What is it?"

In her mind, Tsunade was now thinking of Minato's son. Minato's son with that stupid, confident grin and his teammates. Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. And she wondered what might have possessed the stupid old man to put the _three_ of them on the same team together.

The Uchiha, the Kyuubi-container and the daughter of a civilian. Perhaps some kind sort of attempt at balming relationships and mending cuts and nicks formed by their predecessors. Or some sick humor. Tsunade couldn't really tell. And she then understood why Hatake Kakashi, _ex_ -ANBU was assigned to this particular team.

The little monsters were embodiments of the political strife, emanating from cross-hairs of the village's ruling, the Uchiha clan and the Kyuubi attack which shaped the village into what it is. A sick parallel of a larger overarching structure.

Another sick parallel.

Tsunade was sick of parallels to her teeth.

She looked down at the letter, the crumpled down letter and at the name of the civilian man whose mind, memory, intentions were manipulated. The civilian man's name was Kizashi Haruno.

She put her mind away from those thoughts as Shisui suddenly looked very guilty.

"Itachi Uchiha possesses my eyes—while I possess his. I suppose that might have posed some…medical complications for him…"

.

* * *

If you asked Mebuki Haruno to recount the little important, precious details of her life—like Sakura's birthday. Sakura's _particularly_ unforgettable birthday. She would recount them, bit by bit, from the color of the dining table-cloth to the way the food was cooked.

Everything in their quaint home was packed with memories.

And Mebuki remembered the day her husband had bought the silly yellow dress for his daughter. She had argued with him. He was upset. She got angry at him for having to raise Sakura all by herself. Sakura was being bullied and she _did not_ know what to do about it.

His daughter wore a yellow dress to the academy on her birthday. She was bullied for the ugly shade of sunshine. He stormed towards the academy to complain after the daughter stumbled home, half-way through lunch, with bruises and tears.

And then mother and daughter waited. Because he said that he would be _back_. He'd _make_ it all okay.

An unusually happy Kizashi Haruno returned home, ruffled his daughter's hair and in a chipper voice that terrified the two of them, said:

"Now now dearie, wipe those tears. You are just going to have to learn to get stronger. No no, bullies are just silly little kids. You have to get _stronger_ for the _**good of the village**_." He said, as if eight-year-old Sakura, in her soiled dress were a misbehaving puppy who had just willingly rolled around in dirt. "Don't be silly, now."

Mebuki remembered listening intently. Something was wrong. Something had gone wrong. Why did his clothes have dirt on them?

He bopped her nose, affectionately with his finger. She flinched.

Sakura curled in her toes and clenched the hem of her dress, willing herself to _rip_ it off. He then continued and talked and talked—she wasn't listening to most of it. Only that her parents could do nothing. Her mother's advice to _ignore Ami-chan and her mean friends_ wasn't particularly helpful. Because she always needed saving. Because she always—

Mebuki watched helplessly. In their house, Kizashi always had the final say when it came to Sakura's upbringing. Sakura always listened to him because papa was amazing.

But little Sakura didn't know what to do.

"But they are _mean_."

"If they are mean, you have to be _meaner_. This is the way of the shinobi, Sakura." Kizashi Haruno said, as if he knew anything about being a shinobi.

Her father spoke about honor, about being stronger—of _fighting_ back—like it was the only thing that mattered for her now.

Don't bother the adults with your silly spats.

And no one remembered anything the next day. Only the children— _only_ the children remembered.

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* * *

"So do you know that girl?" Yoshino Nara asked him. "Such a sweet thing, so polite—you never bring home any of your classmates apart from Chouji. We always assumed it was because you were too _lazy_ to make friends."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

" _Oi—_ don't give me that attitude!"

Shikamaru remembered the day, the day after Sakura went home early and her father had yelled at the teachers, loudly and badly. It reverberated through the halls.

There were threats.

The academy children pretended not to listen as Iruka-sensei shut the door and applied silence seals to the wall—with an unreadable smile.

It was honestly a bit troublesome. As Iruka-sensei dragged his chalk over the board. They all noticed the way his fingers shook over the characters he scrawled. The sound of the chalk against the surface of the board was grating against their ears. Even Uchiha Sasuke's fangirls looked terrified.

Good, Shikamaru had thought, looking at Ami's trembling bottom lip.

Good. Bullies deserve to be scared.

"There's nothing wrong." Iruka-sensei's hard tone said. "Absolutely nothing."

And eventually, the children forgot about it as Naruto played _yet_ another prank and sent the entire troop after him, that was until the next day.

And the next day, Ami—emerged into the class with a black-eye. She whispered over and over again at her classmates. Her allies beside her, were donned in little scratches in what might have been a tussle over a jab or two. See, most kids in the classroom, including Shikamaru knew that Ami was bullying Sakura.

"It's okay Ami-chan, _don't_ cry…"

"Forehead's gone _crazy_!"

It was just none of their business.

Ami _only_ targeted forehead when Ino was not around. And Ino wasn't around that day. He remembered seeing Sakura enter the class room, bruises and cuts on her arms. That was until Iruka-sensei led her away. Most kids didn't know what had happened. It was just a lot of drama.

She was troublesome, a lot of energy—a lot of troublesome all packed into her shy, trembling figure. She always hid behind Ino. She always never stood up for herself. And her bullies would just continue to taunt her.

Relentlessly.

Iruka-sensei sternly reprimanded Ami but he didn't need to.

It was as if Sakura had _struck_ the fear of a god into her bullies. And that was the start of a new Sakura. As Kiba referred to her as the _bitch_ , or the female dog—as he tried to amend—when Naruto told him to take it back.

"Sometimes," She told a visibly hurt Ino. "Sometimes I wonder if you liked laughing along with them. Pathetic Sakura who has no confidence."

She squished Ino's offering of an orange with her left foot. And a very shocked Ino cried. Because they were children…not killers.

Ino hung around Shikamaru and Chouji, for the rest of her academy day and then into being genin and she was better off for that. They all had better team-work, Shikamaru decided, it was worth it in the end. They were now all chuunin. He reiterated at one point, during the chuunin exams to Sakura.

"She worked hard to get here. She worked hard to get strong—you must know. I'm glad she's stronger."

She didn't say a word. He assumed he got his point through. And Shikamaru wished her good luck in the future encounters, silently in his head. And even then, she was still trying to show up everyone. It didn't work, because out here, none of your academy spats mattered. This was the _adult_ world.

Sakura Haruno was too many emotions. She was two people at once. One point she was cooing over Sasuke-kun and acting dumb. It was all an act. Women put on airs to impress the men they liked, he thought.

Kiba mocked her a lot. He would imitate her high pitched 'Sasuke- _kun_ ' and everything _girlish_ about her. To the way she behaved around him—like a _fangirl_.

But that was what most people knew, thought about Sakura Haruno.

The other side was a gale, a tornado of emotions, of something mysterious, something dark—like a dam ready to be let loose. Like the sound of the earth ripping apart and unleashing horrors from her mouth. A child with bright piercing green eyes, set after the sun.

There was something _tiring_ about Sakura Haruno's energy and her dreams after _Sasuke_ -kun. She was always trying to prove her rivals wrong.

"She's troublesome." Shikamaru told his mother who was waiting for him to continue. But he really didn't want to. All he thought, was that she was village business—not his.

"Do you know what Hokage-sama would want with such a young girl?"

Shikamaru said nothing. He shrugged. Because Sakura Haruno was _troublesome_ just like all girls.

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* * *

"Eliminated any threats in his way?" Sakura coughed. Her face was white. "You mean…he has…. attacked important people?"

"All of this is confidential information." Shikaku continued. "Your background as a civilian is of particular importance to him—I assume he would have eliminated your parents if he decided that you would be of some use to him. He has taken from the clans, orphans, children with kekkai genkai and children with talents."

At the look of horror on her face, Shikaku continued.

"Danzou is aware that you are affiliated with the Hokage—so you are protected in that sense—your parents will be safe. In fact, he was very interested in your skills."

Sakura nodded, numbly. She didn't know what to say.

"Your role in ROOT is to gather information. The kinds of missions, the people you will associate with, the influence you will gain in the foundation—is important. Because with influence, you will gain more leeway into the foundation's trust in some _high_ places. Influence depends on how powerful as a kunoichi you are, you plan to be. Do you understand what I mean?"

She shook her head, hesitantly.

Kakashi-sensei had explained this to her, her father had spoken about this as well—in his travels, there were certain places which were a no-no because of the _influence_ of the leaders in those areas. That's how Gato had managed to amass a bunch of thugs who could threaten the poor. The bridge would lessen his influence if the people started relying on other people. Gato was a bully.

"Somewhat." She said.

"Okay." He paused. "Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha." He smiled lightly as her cheeks pinked with embarrassment. "Kakashi Hatake. The three great Saanin. The previous Hokages. All of these people—what do they have in common?"

Power.

"They've done great things for the village?" Sakura tried.

"They've done great and powerful things for the village." He repeated. "People _trust_ them. Do you know how to make people _trust_ you—Sakura?"

And she thought of Sasuke, and Naruto and the way they reacted to her presence. Weak. As always something to protect and that made her angrier.

"I've always _needed_ protection." She said, shortly. "People don't trust me. But I don't need them. I don't need any of them."

"Correction, you don't need them, but they need you." Shikaku said. "And debt is a powerful thing to shinobi. Save a man's life—that's the greatest debt you can _ever_ offer." He said slowly. And she understood. "In the foundation, most of these people are loyal to Danzo's cause because he took in these powerful orphans and became a father to them. He taught them how to fight."

Orphans like _Naruto_.

"Then…" She said. "He's not really bad is he?"

Shikaku smiled at her. "I don't debate a person's morality. I look at his actions and how he affects the village. He poses a threat for Tsunade, just as he posed a threat for the Third."

And she thought of Naruto again.

The world was fucked up. Sakura had always somehow known this. She said this to Naruto.

Naruto made sense of it by trying to convince her that precious people made it all better. She didn't want to die. She wasn't honorable enough to die for her teammates. And she was always so _damn_ scared. She wished she was Naruto. The world would be simpler, punctuated with— _never give up, dammit_ —and easy self-sacrifice.

"You'll understand in due time. All you need to know is that we are doing this for the **_sake of the village_**."

She flinched.

"Yes." She said.

She didn't understand him. But she would understand him later.

And years later, Sakura would wonder if Shikaku Nara watched people around him and all their weaknesses and strenghts. He was the head of the clan-council, the right hand man to three Hokages. She wondered if he knew how powerful he really was in the realm of shinobi politics.

Always scheming against Leaf's enemies.

Always planning.

And then her thoughts wavered towards Shikamaru, if her former, lazy classmate who looked deceptively dull but was always watching the rest of them. He was the same. He was intelligent. Everyone loved Shikamaru— and she? She always tried, in everything she did. Even making friends. He never tried—they just _flocked_ to him. Always chirping in his presence. He never tried.

But twelve-year-old Sakura didn't understand the nuances and dynamics of social power. For now, she listened and she obeyed.

"You have never had an issue with following commands." He told her. "I hope?"

It was like a project, a big project with tape and glue and colored paper. She was to organize her bearings. It was all organized. She would follow instructions. She would follow the rules.

Written out rules were simple. Rules were easy to follow.

"No, Nara-san."

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* * *

"And when exactly did the two of you, switch eyes?" Tsunade asked him.

"We feared that Danzo would try and take my eyes. Which he tried—multiple times. He didn't suspect Itachi because Itachi is not supposed to have the mangekyo. And the issue with the sharingan is that…perhaps these eyes weren't meant for mortal bodies. It serves too many health complications."

And Shisui hated his eyes. He hated every cell in his body that was transferred to his cousin's weak body. But he could still remember the day when Itachi appeared before him, before his injured body and was about to transport him to the hospital. But Shisui, with rattling breath and exhaustion, gripped the fabric of his cousin's shirt and sai—

"To put it simply, shortly after I was attacked, Itachi arrived in time to save me." He said. "Lucky too, or else I would have bled out."

A beat.

"I see." Tsunade said, slowly. "And how does this lend itself to the fact that he's sick right now?"

"You would have more expertise in this area than me—Hokage-sama." Shisui said. "But I suppose my eyes produce more stress on Itachi's eyes. My sharingan genetics are one of the strongest in the clan."

Which was why the elders were so upset over Naori's child— _lest_ it taint the bloodline.

"Strongest sharingan?" Tsunade said. "Hmm. That seems to make sense. Your body has to accommodate your eyes whenever you use them? Perhaps handling the sharingan has put too much stress on his body, among other things...like sleep deprivation? Perhaps there's a medical link between the disease atrophying his lungs and the powerful set of eyes he has? Interesting..."

Shisui didn't know. Tsunade continued on.

"Simply put, from assessing a sharingan user in my time—who had lost his sight—we started to deduce that he was losing vision because his nerve pathway was severely damaged from overuse. There is an over-load of information that is produced with the sharingan…"

Shisui nodded. Clan genetics would help aid them, but still it was a burden on the eyes. Another reason why the elders were upset over Naori—she had the _perfect_ clan genetics.

"But from the mangekyo—" Tsunade flickered her eyes to him. "—I suppose Itachi was continuing your duty in your stead?"

You could fool an Uchiha. Most people just assumed it was from the stress that Itachi faced in majority of his missions—but you could never fool a medic like Tsunade Senju over matters of the body.

And for that alone, Shisui was glad that the village was in her hands.

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"The first stage in his recovery means that you will have to swap again. You get your mangekyo back—Shisui." She said. "I'm not risking any of my precious shinobi. You and Itachi are too important to the village."

Shisui widened his eyes.

"And don't worry about Danzou—because of a little _arrange_ ment we've had—he's currently twiddling his thumbs in the corner. His influence over the village will be minimal. I intend to change things, boy." She said. "And that means for you and your set of circumstances. Will you help me with this endeavor?"

And Shisui straightened his back.

"Always a pleasure, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade sent him a rare smile, etched into the tough muscles of her face and she nodded.

"And this village will become the village it is _meant_ to be."

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* * *

"Kakashi."

A flip of the page. A sound of disapproval from his throat.

"Kakashi- _sensei_."

"Ah Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi looked over his book at the boy, very seriously. "What seems to be the matter?"

"Where's Sakura?"

Kakashi regarded Sasuke curiously. The boy's gloves were dirty from pulling out weeds all day. That work might have been humiliating once for the son of the _great_ Uchiha clan. These days, Sasuke didn't complain.

"I have no idea." Kakashi replied. "I told you—I myself haven't seen her since…well."

A beat.

"I wanted to speak with her," The Uchiha said impatiently. "But everytime I show up at her house. She's missing. What is that supposed to mean?"

"I wouldn't know Sasuke." Kakashi said, honestly. He wasn't thinking very much about his other student. He had no more ties with her because she wanted it that way. She shut him out—for the _failure_ of a teacher that he was. He felt bitter, but what was the point of dwelling on these things? He had offered to train her.

She declined.

"I thought you weren't interested in Sakura." Kakashi asked him as Sasuke peeled off one of those gloves. "She's no longer part of Team Seven, you know?"

At that Sasuke stilled.

"What do you mean?" He asked slowly. "But she didn't get promoted, did she? So she can't be on anyone else's team?"

"No not really, no." Kakashi found the confusion on the Uchiha's face very refreshing. He crinkled his eyes. "Under normal circumstances, she would have been sharing in your plight, pulling weeds all day or put with a genin team which has roughly two members. She needs that for the sake of her chuunin exams."

"Under normal circumstances." Sasuke repeated, unamused. He uncapped his bottle of water.

"She would also be training with Team Seven—and you."

Sasuke said nothing, he chugged down a splash of water. Kakashi could tell that the boy was not against the idea. Sakura, he mused, always posed a greater mental challenge than Naruto in terms of testing. Genjutsu was her forte, chakra control and perhaps even kenjutsu. Or poisons, perhaps Anko would have been able to help her in that department.

Once again, she declined him saying, "Sorry, _I don't know if I would have enough time to keep up my ninja training."_

It was a lie. He didn't know why she was lying. She looked into his single eye and _lied_ —too bad she wasn't trained enough in the art of lying or she would have managed. Either way, it was not his interest because right then—Naruto and Sasuke had caught his attention. They were once again, lunging for each other's throats.

"I'll be blunt. Sakura quit being a ninja." Kakashi said.

And Sasuke who choked in the midst of another gulp—coughed, violently. He might have gotten all that water down the wrong pipe because it took him some time recollect himself.

" _What_?"

"She'll be starting work at the hospital, shortly. It seems like she's more interested in other aspects of the ninja world. It's a good profession. Konoha is lacking good medical staff. I've never liked hospitals so much—but ah, it would be nice if people took more interest in that profession."

"A medic?"

"I don't know. And a medic is a very good profession, Sasuke."

"But she…she…" Sasuke paused, as if he was replaying the events of the forest over and over again. "She's not _bad_ at fighting, is she? Why did she have to quit?"

"I don't know Sasuke." Kakashi told him with another weighted smile, hidden by thin fabric of his mask. "Perhaps when you see her next, you can ask her yourself."

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* * *

"Sakura-channn!" Shizuka, one of the students peeked inside the classroom at her. She had just finished her conversation with Shizune. "Some guy is asking for you. What the heck—you didn't tell me you were so _popular_?" The chuunin wagged her eyebrows.

The rest of her classmates who were packing up were sniggering much to Sakura's indignation.

"Oi Shizuka—"

"Bye bye!" Shizuka winked at her. "Try not to stay outside too late or your kaa-san will get mad!"

Sakura looked back to Shizune, very flustered and annoyed. Shizune chuckled.

"I guess this can wait till tomorrow then, Sakura." Shizune said, warmly. "Till then I recommend reading through the material I have already provided for you. You know, I've been talking to Tsunade-sama about you. She seems to think that maybe…you are ready for accelerated training."

Sakura blinked. Then her eyes widened. Shizune had a twinkle in her eyes.

"That would be… _amazing_!" She threw herself at Shizune, hugging her with excitement. "Thank you Shizune-sensei!"

"You can watch one of our surgeries for starters and ask questions, I'll let you know when." She said. "After all, experience is the best teacher?" Shizune continued with a smile, patting her back. "Don't squeeze me like that!"

And like that, Sakura's mood was lifted. She was _giggling_ into her hands when she walked outside. She wanted to scream—but not in front of the Academy—lest she terrify some academy students. She was so drunken with happiness that she nearly bumped into someone because she wasn't watching where she was going.

"You look like the dobe when he gets something right."

Her grin froze in place.

Sasuke stiffened at the look on her face.

"Hi Sasuke! What's up?" She squeaked through her frozen grin.

And just like that, she shivered inwardly. What could he possibly want with her? He's never sought her out like this. Her mother mentioned sometime during the dinner that a boy had been at the door to see her. Her father then grumbled that it was too early for her to have boyfriends. Sakura never imagined it might have been _Sasuke_.

Usually it would have been Naruto.

But at the time, she was too tired to speculate so she kind of dropped dead after dinner.

"Uh…" He paused. "How are you feeling since…you know?"

"I'm fine." She replied, with a grin and stuck out a bright thumbs up. "All good, you know? Tsunad—I mean Hokage-sama healed all of my injuries!"

"Oh." He said. Then he pulled out a flower from behind him and held it out toward her. It wasn't _just_ any flower it was a Daisy, freshly picked. "I uh…I got you this flower."

Her jaw dropped.

" _For me_?"

"Uh—" His cheeks pinked. "I mean it as a _thank you_ for saving me." And Sakura had never seen _Sasuke_ -kun blush. And quite frankly, it was _adorable_. Her breath caught.

"Can I hug you?" She whispered.

He shoved the flower between her fingers and looked _horrified_. "How about _no_?"

"Okay," She said happily—this was the _best_ day ever. "Thank you, Sasuke- _kun_!"

He nodded uncomfortably, looking very much as though he had a bad itch in a place where the sun doesn't shine.

"This is so sweet!" She cooed. She doubted he even knew the meaning behind the flower, but it said a lot about how he felt that he probably showed up at the Yamanaka florists and asked for a daisy of all flowers. And for that alone, Sakura was grateful.

Then he spoke again.

"So Kakashi told me about you." He said to her. "About how you…uh…quit being a ninja." He straightened up and Sakura paused in her actions again. "I want to know…why?"

And he was looking at her so seriously, so sincerely. Sakura could have told him so many things right then and there. But instead she smiled at him, like the way she smiled at Kakashi-sensei, when he offered to train her. And she shook her head.

"I don't think the ninja life would suit me."

Sasuke blinked.

"You know that's not true." He said, slowly.

"I'm only going to be a liability on the field." She added, or tried to add. "We can't play ninja, you were right—Sasuke."

And it was so many months ago that he'd said it, that he forgot. He'd said it to Naruto— _not_ to her. Because dead-last didn't care enough about anything, and dead-last didn't care about knowing the difference between chuunin and jounin and genin (Sasuke did, he always cared about promotions). He didn't even bother with stealth— _basic_ shinobi techniques.

And maybe she was listening.

He mentioned something about her ninjutsu during the rant.

"Then you train harder!" He said, determinedly. "You train till you get strong enough, you _are_ strong enough, Sakura. Is this giving up? You…you're _strong_."

And he looked at her, _really_ looked at her.

She thought she would have told him everything right there and then.

Instead, she closed her eyes and threw herself at him. Because his look was too piercing and she didn't want him to see her face. She'd always been a bad liar because she'd always been too emotional.

And she nearly made him topple over with the force of her weight, and all her heavy textbooks and all her _medical_ related things clinked together in her little satchel bag.

"Ow Sakura— _what_ are you—" He squirmed in her grasp.

"Listen." She whispered, making him still. "Thank you— _thank_ you for being my teammate. I've learned a lot from you and Naruto. And I have to _thank_ you _both_ for saving my life—"

He opened his mouth to speak.

"No listen—" She said more insistently. "We owe each other _nothing_. I saved your life because _you_ saved mine. I only did whatever I could because—" She paused "—I don't want to _owe_ you anything, Sasuke."

And she felt his shoulders wilt.

A beat.

"Let go." He said, quietly. And she let him go. She refused to look him in the eye. He paused, his hands were still shoved into the pockets of his white shorts. He was looking down. She looked down too. The noon sun was too damn bright overhead. It was a breezy afternoon and the passing wind balmed some of the heat on her skin.

"I'm sorry." She said, sincerely. "I—I hope you find a better team without me."

"Thank you." Sasuke said, his words were softer. "I don't know if there will ever be a better team than team seven."

She nodded her head.

"You can write to Naruto." She clasped her hands together. "Whenever he sends a letter, I'll tell him to write to you as well!"

"Right."

"Yeah…" Her cheerful grin faltered. "Um…I might be removed from the shinobi forces, but my rank still remains. Maybe, maybe one day we can all be on the same team together?"

He nodded. Sakura lifted her eyes to his face.

She'd never seen him look so… _affected_? It made her want to cry. Sasuke was alone. There was no Naruto. There was no Sakura any more. There was no more team seven. There would only be Sasuke and Kakashi, momentarily. Then they too would part once Sasuke had finished his training.

His hands were clenched into his pocket.

The air between might have been awkward if it wasn't for the way they were both lost in thought.

And then, Sakura was looking over his shoulder, at Itachi who was on the roof of the building opposite the academy. The background of the sky and the large, glowing passing clouds was like a metaphor. The world was moving on—and so were all of them. From Naruto, to Sasuke to Sakura to Itachi and to everyone else in Konoha.

Itachi met her gaze.

And for the first time since Sakura met Itachi, she truly felt sorry for her teammate, and for his brother. For their circumstances, for what she had learned about his illness and for Sasuke's sake. Tsunade was in the village, though, they would be okay.

And there was something unreadable in his gaze, like perhaps he was watching the interaction between the two of them for the first time. Like he was seeing something between his little brother and this little girl who was on his brother's genin team.

But Sakura didn't think she would have liked him to take his mean words back.

Because it was too late. And she would _thank_ him—because she had been screaming, writhing and _growing_.

She watched him leave.

Sakura looked back to Sasuke as he spoke.

"Are you doing anything after this?"

But still, just because they weren't on the same team any more didn't mean that they couldn't be friends.

"Hmm." She paused. "No?"

"Would you like to get lunch?"

"That would be nice."

"Yea."

She shifted the strap of her bag and smiled at him. He gave her a small smile back. And their steps led them towards Ichiraku's, possibly out of habit from the months and months together as a team.

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END OF PART ONE

* * *

a/n: Future chapters will be more plot-based. Also fun-fact—I've always stopped at chapter 5 with updates for multi chapters. This is the _first_ chapter 6? Wow.

Also will come back to edit. alksjdnlaskjdnalskd a LIKE ALL CHAPTERS. unbeta'ed. but feedback is nice, alwayss nice.


	7. Chapter 7

**I own nothing.**

a/n: I have no excuse for taking time to update apart from...Pokemon GO. But since majority of the pokestops in my area have been removed because of _lawsuit_ issues. I mean I get it, kids are stupid, they leave their garbage around at pokestops and blast loud music. I can see why the stop would be reported. So I'm back to tinkering with fanfiction. It's a great game just not uh, for quiet suburbs.

What made this chapter so damn difficult was the _big reveal_ and just organization of timeline (its probbably still skewed :c). Also the whole, uh, getting back into writing for Naruto. unbeta'd and edits still in progress but i hope you guys still enjoy!

* * *

PART TWO

Atrophy

Chapter Seven

 _Two and a half years later._

.

.

.

.

" _Its going to be_ such _a blast—_ I can't wait!"

Jiraiya pressed a forefinger and a thumb to his sweaty, wet forehead and drew off some moisture.

"I wonder what Konoha will be like."

How many times had the boy asked that question?

It was _hot_. Jiraiya was going to have a _killer_ headache by evening. All he wanted to do was find a cool, shady place beside a waterfall (yes!) to sit and write a draft for his newest book—not travel in this…this blistering heat, with their weighing packs on their back and without a lick of water in their flasks.

Only he couldn't. _They_ couldn't afford to waste more time.

"Naruto."

The fifteen-year-old was spry and healthy and so damn chipper. Jiraiya also made him eat ample servings of vegetables.

Kushina would have been _so_ proud.

"I mean." Naruto's hands were shoved into the pockets of his new black and orange jumpsuit. "Do you think Granny's mug will be on the Hokage's mountain?" Jiraiya lamented the loss of Naruto's life for the endearing term. "Konohamaru carry on my legacy of repainting the Hokage Monument?"

"Carry on your legacy of repainting the Hokage's monuments…?" Jiraiya hummed to himself, thinking of the bright orange profanities slicked over Minato's left cheek. "It's like you haven't grown at all."

"Better than a dirty old man who peeps in on women's baths—"

"It's called _research_."

"—for a book meant for other dirty old men."

"Haven't I raised you to have more respect for elders?"

"Does this mean you finally admit to abusing the seniors discount the other night?"

"Listen brat." Jiraiya drew out a long insufferable sigh. "A man's gotta do what he's gotta do to _eat_."

"Right." Naruto guffawed. "And your _senior's_ rights got revoked the moment you told that waitress that you were actually—ah what was it— _thirty_ -five! When you're actually sixty!"

"Fifty plus some." Jiraiya corrected him. He rolled his eyes as Naruto grabbed his side and laughed and laughed and laughed. And Jiraiya smiled, despite himself. He cuffed the back of Naruto's head, propelling him forwards.

"Hey watch it!"

"Do you by any chance." Jiraiya asked him. "Want to get dinner sometime in Konoha? While I'm still there?"

"Yeah okay."

"I'll treat I guess, since it's one of your last few days as my idiot student and all."

Naruto gave him an unimpressed look.

"Did you remember the last time you said that? You literally took off right as the waitress left the bill. I had to _pay_ for our meals. Geez, I'm not gullible you pervy grandpa!" He pulled out his froggy wallet resting in his back-pocket and waved it around. "Look at Froggy, he's lost so much weight. It's actually really sad."

"Don't call me grandpa," Jiraiya made a great show of shivering. "I have goosebumps in this heat."

He shoved his exposed forearm at Naruto. Naruto laughed.

And there was also a large, angry bruise which he had sustained from last night's training exercise with Naruto, hidden by the flap of his sleeve. And Jiraiya let his sleeve fall back over the ninja mesh on his fore-arm. Tsunade would look at it when they got back, and that would be an addition to his lengthy report.

Naruto didn't know about the bruise though.

Naruto never remembered anything when the _Kyuubi_ happened, not even his _own_ scars. Healed scars.

He drew his arm back.

Thank the Kyuubi for high metabolism, clear skin and healthy chakra flow, Jiraiya thought dryly. And a slew of mental-issues, self-abuse and self-guilt. Psychology wasn't Jiraiya's forte—it was Tsunade's. So her diagnosis of the boy had never been so apt.

In many ways, Jiraiya thought, it applied to the shinobi of Otogakure.

"Naruto." He said. "I hope—after I'm gone and done with your training—you don't do anything stupid to endanger yourself."

"I can't guarantee that." Naruto told him. "Neither can you."

"Listen, idiot student. What I mean is—don't run around trying to play hero _when you really shouldn't be_. You should sit your ass down, and let other people handle an issue which you can't take on." He said. "You aren't invincible."

And the impudent teenager squinted at him.

"I can't guarantee that!"

Jiraiya didn't feel like arguing with him. They had been through this many times. Then the blonde-haired teen spoke determinedly (which reminded Jiraiya that this boy was, indeed, Minato's son).

He said:

"But I trained hard. I trained hard enough so _you_ or _anyone_ in the village would have to be endangered."

Hero syndrome, he pictured Tsunade tick off on her clip-board. Usually affiliated with people who seek recognition or acknowledgement to compensate for abandonment.

* * *

.

He parted the tassels hanging from his conical straw hat with two fingers and squinted into the distance. The heat distorted the horizon. A drop of sweat rolled down his chin.

"How long till we get to your old village?" Deidara turned to his hunched partner. Black robes and red clouds was the _worst_ choice in this heat.

"It's not far now."

Deidara had the discretion to keep silent about the tracks that Sasori left behind in the sand, because of his hunched, clattering fake body. Because Sasori was a man with very, very little patience. He was also significantly stronger than him.

Deidara wasn't _scared_ of him. It just meant that anyone following them had a death-wish.

They called him _Akasuna no_ _Sasori_. He was one of the key figures in the Third Shinobi war for Sunagakure. He was also the _grandson_ of Chiyo of the Red Sand. Who was a "terrifying old hag" who had managed to single-handedly poison an entire battalion just by targeting their water supply.

Her grandson's reputation preceded her these days in the poison arts.

There was so much death during that war, Deidara thought. His parents died in that war—to the legendary Yellow Flash. He was only seven at the time.

"Oh." He said.

"You know your role, right? You will retrieve the jinchuuriki." Sasori mentioned. "If you fail, you die."

"Obviously." Deidara scoffed. "I'm not stupid, yeah."

"I highly doubt that." Sasori said. Deidara rolled his eyes. "Don't… _linger_ —or I'll have to interfere. Leader-sama demands success of this mission for the furthering of the plan." He continued.

Deidara let the tassels hanging from his conical hat fall.

Ah, he thought, the _plan_ —the illusive, mysterious plan that everyone trusted Leader-sama with and _no_ one knew anything about.

Apart from Konan, Deidara added in an afterthought.

She was the right-hand woman of Leader-sama. According to Sasori, she was the _co_ -founder of this mysterious, criminal organization and had recruiteddanna himself. He breathed out, a few tassels flew. It didn't matter. All he knew is that his affiliation with this organization provided him leeway into the _upper_ echelons of their criminal world. Perhaps, he thought, perhaps he also gained pleasure from railing, _destroying_ corrupt members of the shinobi society's private property without repercussion.

It was beautiful art, this job.

That's when he felt someone approach them.

"Halt there!"

And they both paused in step. They turned around to look at the patrol group of sand shinobi. The one in the middle was dressed in all black and had atrocious war-paint smeared over his cheeks. He stepped forward and reached over his shoulders, fingers grazing the large object wrapped in bandages. It looked like a body.

And Deidara had travelled enough with Sasori to know that it _wasn't_ a body.

"Do all Sand Shinobi have an atrocious sense of style, yeah?" He asked.

"His clothing defends against the sun." Sasori replied in a distilled tone. "And an atrocious sunburn."

"Stop ignoring me!" The man snapped. "Who are you and _just what business_ do you have with the Sand?"

"Oh believe me." Deidara said lightly, shifting his body towards them with a lazy threat. He lifted his straw hat to see them better. It was all about the posture. "You _don't_ really—really want to piss off _Sasori no Danna_ , yeah." He drew out.

And the _name_.

So the members of the squadron stiffened. Sasori lifted his head and peered at them through beady, dark eyes.

"I'll take care of this." He told Deidara.

So Deidara raised his palm and the orifice, the _mouth_ on his palms spat out a stream of clay. The clay began to form itself into a _very_ large bird ready to take flight. It beat its wings on the sand, causing the sand-shinobi to bar their eyes with their arms as the gust of wind assaulted them.

"What the hell is that!?" The puppeteer asked him. The _other_ one.

"I believe I can fly!" Deidara called back, hopping onto it's back. He reached into his satchel of clay and pulled out little tiny, squirmy _creations_. "Danna! Dodge!"

The giant clay bird took off, stirring up a gust of sand and blistering explosions in its wake.

* * *

.

 _Hours later elsewhere..._

She was a pretty girl, and he wasn't fooling himself.

"See anything you like?" She winked at him. She was seventeen, he was fifteen—thing is, he'd always had a bit of a thing for older girls. "Or quit staring." She added with a an equally snide look.

Older, _assertive_ girls.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head as he led her through the crowded evening market-place, past the murmur of voices, steps and people making their way to where-ever they had to be. Temari held his steady gaze in ways that made his insides turn to rubble. She was calm, cool and collected.

"Nothing," He replied. Keeping things _professional._ "How do you feel about your visit?"

"Pleasant." She said.

"Oh?"

"I find the fact that you have a female Hokage very nice." She said. And she smirked. "Did you know I was one of the candidates for being Kazekage?"

"I didn't." Shikamaru said, feeling uncomfortable about this twist in the topic. Why was _he_ always the one who had to deal with the female gender and their issues? "That's interesting to hear."

"They picked my brother." Temari said. "He's a good Kazekage. But the people have not _forgotten_ his crimes."

"Unfortunate." Shikamaru said slowly. "Unfortunate that the shinobi system is not _democratic_."

She regarded him through dark, thoughtful eyes.

"I don't know how it works in Konoha—but Gaara inherited a kind of our father's legendary Kekkai Genkai, or a lesser version of it. It's called the sand release."

"I see."

"It's important for him because he _knows,_ his _sand_ knows when someone infiltrates the village."

It was based on power, Shikamaru thought. But he didn't voice it out loud. Women were touchy in terms of power-related issues. They often complained if they weren't being taken seriously enough. Then they complained if they weren't treated like a _woman_.

Ino was a testimonial to his experience.

"And the previous Hokages of the Sand have also had the same kind of release."

"You come from a family of Hokages?"

She gave him a proud yet humble smile.

"I'm not related to the first. But isn't this how these things work? Kids who have the blood of previous Hokages in them are usually suitable candidates for…uh…pruning. We understand the customs and dances of power better than new-blood."

He didn't know what to say about this.

"You have an _impressive_ prowess for a Kunoichi." He noted. He had first-hand _experience_ of this. And she flushed darkly. "I believe my match with you was one of the most interesting I have ever faced."

He was being honest.

"And yet you became chuunin before me." She nudged him with her elbow. "But then again, our village— _without_ a Kazekage—posed some complications for us."

"Really?"

"They didn't know if they would, _could_ promote us past our rank. Gaara had to take the village from the elder's rule and they completed his training in the process. That's when the promotions began rolling in. Some accused him of favoritism on mine and Kankuro's part. But Baki vouched for us."

She paused.

"A lot of people in our year were promoted, weren't they?"

It was a rather competitive exam. A _bit_ too competitive, Shikamaru thought.

His eyes trailed over her shoulder at the Hokage's monument. Konoha, on the other hand—had it easier. The Hokage rock now had _five_ faces etched onto the stone. The newest addition was Tsunade. She joined the ranks of the Hokages who all looked severe, grim and watchful over the village.

"I see."

That's when he saw Naruto. Wait what?

And he stopped. Temari also stopped. Shikamaru blinked and widened his eyes.

"Naruto?"

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Temari looked at him questioningly. She followed his gaze.

And against the Hokage monuments, balanced on an electricity pole was the teen. His back was facing them. And then—he took a deep breath and hollered.

"I _'m_ back, Konoha!" He bellowed over the rooftops and the streets and the passers by who looked up, shook their heads and carried on. "Uzumaki Naruto is back! Hahaha!"

And Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Temari blinked.

"He's back?" She whispered. "Wow I _barely_ recognized that brat."

"Naruto!" Shikamaru hollered, catching the youth's attention. He twisted around to look down at him. "Is that really you?"

And Naruto hopped down.

"Shikamaru!" He turned to Temari and squinted. "And you are— _Temari!_ "

"Long time no see! You've gotten bigger!"

"Really ehehhee?" He scratched the back of his head.

She nodded amicably.

"Nice to see you again."

"What are you doing in Konoha?" He peered over her shoulder hopefully. "Is Gaara here?"

"He's not." Temari informed him. "He's ah… _occupied_ with more important things." She then added with a smirk. "He's Kazekage, you know?"

And the squawk of indignation erupted from Naruto's lips. And Naruto being Naruto, took some time to declare, profess in his very gaudy fashion of how he _wasn't_ to be beaten _that_ easily, dattebayo!

Temari and Shikamaru waited patiently.

"Congratulations." He said to Temari after he took a deep breath.

She smiled.

"Thank you."

"Did you _just_ get back?" Shikamaru asked him once he calmed down.

"Yeah!" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Pervy-sage said he's going ahead to meet Tsunade so in the mean time I can go get ramen. Wanna come?"

Temari shrugged.

"No thanks."

He then paused.

"Are the two of you…" He squinted. Shikamaru sensed something _troublesome_ coming out from Naruto's mouth. He brought his two index fingers together and snickered. "Together?"

"No." They both answered at the same time.

And she caught his gaze and looked away. He looked away as well.

" _No_." She emphasized again. Her cheeks flushed. "Stop being stupid."

.

.

* * *

.

.

 _A couple of hours earlier_ …

"This is the issue with the village funding." One of the elders began. Gaara shifted his gaze over to him. "We need more jobs for the citizens— _our_ location doesn't allow for good trade-routes compared to other villages like Konoha. The daimyo is corrupt and he refuses to allow investigations on criminal activity and drug-trafficking over our trade-routes."

"Back in the day." Other elder to his right began. "Our village was a lot less docile than it is now. Iwa was threatening to bomb us. If you recall? And _you—_ Sayuri—you wanted a trade-route link with them because they had struck gold in their mines. But the problem is, Iwa was hiring dirty rogues to kill our supply back."

"No one could link it to Iwa's war-crimes. We could have actually prevented our _involvement_ into the Third Shinobi war if it wasn't for _someone's_ war-tactics. They were making a trade with us until _you_ involved yourself in the issue. It's a pity that the Third actually listened to you."

"Doesn't change the fact that our trade-links are mysteriously overwhelmed by threats."

Gaara thought that he would have really liked to be out in the heat, training, rather than listening to two old foggies bicker bitterly about the _good old days._ About the other old Kages. About the war, _which_ still haunted them to this day and most of all—

"I mean no disrespect to the Kazekage himself here, but his father has not done an adequate job of being Kazekage. Our village funding was going towards _Otogakure!_ We had to _weed_ out our spies and cut off all supplies. And we are _still suffering from that attack!_ "

And Gaara didn't even have to defend his legacy.

"That's because—" The elder Sayuri, grit her teeth and glared him down. "—that's because Orochimaru has _infiltrated_ our village as the Kazekage himself. He has _also_ taken several of our shinobi for his—ah— _experiments_."

"And we cannot aid Konoha in the hunt for him because…?"

"We barely have many shinobi ourselves."

"Then recruit some! Has the Sand village _fallen_ in terms of power that we have to _seek_ retribution for our fallen men from Konoha?"

"You old cretin!"

"Both of you! Be civil!"

"Of course, but you were _against_ standardized curriculum to introduce civilians and children of Shinobi parents to a certain Suna-style." Another elder interrupted. "If you recalled, you were _vehement_ about it!"

"Because how _difficult_ would it be for one of our enemies to infiltrate our schooling system and just glean all our secrets." He replied. "But now—"

And the continued on. And on. Till Chiyo-baasama, one of the more _difficult_ elders in the room, _cracked_ a joke.

"The two of you should just get _married_ and give up your positions on the council." She winked. They bristled. "Ne?"

"Honorable _elder_!"

Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose. That's when he felt it. Someone had breached the walls of the village. His sand, his _sand which_ had been interwoven between the cracks, detected the large mud-gates opening, for the intruder—

He could feel wet, dark blood pooling on the ground where the dead gate-guards lay.

"Please take this seriously!"

"Kazekage-sama, what is the matter?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama do you have input on this decision." The elder turned to him and froze at the furious look on his face. "Kazekage-sama?"

And Gaara's head was still inclined to the right. He listened as the world was crackling. The sand wove itself behind the intruder's entry—past the parted walls. _Airborne_. The intruder's feet didn't touch the ground lest Gaara be ready, ready to trip him, capture him, cocoon him.

The Sand chased behind the intruder.

"Kazekage-sama?"

He held up a hand and rose to his feet.

"We've been." Gaara paused, sliding his eyes over every member in the room. "Infiltrated." He finished.

That's when their meeting was cut short with the sound of a violent explosion and shattering windows.

* * *

.

 _Present..._

The Konoha Communications watch-tower which usually housed carrier birds who carried messages back and forth to the border and throughout fire-country was pretty uneventful. They spent most of the day playing cards.

Until early evening.

"This is Sand's _fastest carrier!_ " He loosed the scroll from the bird's back. The decoder looked up from her scrolls. "It must be urgent!"

"Let me look at it!"

"I'll help!"

And several minutes later, as the decoder took off in the direction of the Hokage's tower. The other member of the team stroked the head of the bird and fed it some crumbs. He looked over at the table, at the small beetle who was skittering over the surface of the table.

"They called themselves…" He paused. The bird nipped his fingers. One of his colleagues gave him a questioning look. "…the Akatsuki."

"Did you say something?"

"No."

He averted his eyes as it flew away, past the bird and over his shoulder.

* * *

.

A couple of hours ago, while they were on their way back to Konoha, Suna was attacked.

"What is Konoha's answer?"

Jiraiya read the newly decoded letter from the Sand village. Suna had requested help from Konoha for help as they had suffered many _casualties_ from the attack.

"Konoha will respond." Tsunade said. Her glowing fingers ghosted over his red, angry bruise.

Two and a half years later, and Jiraiya noticed that her face had grown colder, or older. There were no wrinkles, but if it wasn't for her effervescent jutsu to cover up her age—Jiraiya knew she would have aged like _fine_ wine. She had Senju blood in her veins. Clan genetics that ensured strength even in your _old_ age.

It didn't matter, she was still beautiful.

Tsunade was hovering over his shoulder. She smelled like alcohol and incense. He averted his face as she leaned in to reach the deep, _large_ scar between his shoulder down his arm.

"By they way—we managed to get some interesting information about Orochimaru."

"Oh?"

"We raided his base in Grass country. He evacuated elsewhere. We're cracking down on his spies." Tsunade began wryly. "I suppose ROOT agents are surprisingly intelligent these days. Danzou is particularly ecstatic about leading the entire troop against Orochimaru."

"Well that sounds fine and dandy," Jiraiya said dryly. "Are you bringing him into the village dead or alive?"

"Hopefully dead." Tsunade replied. "What use is a trial for a man who killed a kage, exploited Sand's resources and committed a host of crimes against humanity? And the evidence is insurmountable. His only redeeming points is his power." She paused. "But then again, Konoha has not fallen so badly to rely on our enemies."

"I see."

"I'll invite you for the funeral when we incinerate his remains. He won't be buried in Konoha."

There was silence in the room.

"I wish things were different."

"We talked about this…"

He watched her lips. He didn't look into her eyes.

"I know."

"Jiraiya."

"Yeah?"

"We're fifty years old." She sighed. "Enough babbling about the good old days. Orochimaru has done _far_ too many things, _irredeemable_ things to be accepted."

His lips twitched.

"Fifty plus some."

"Details." She dismissed him. "You understand why we _have_ to kill him right? He's endangered _far_ too many."

And he still didn't look into her eyes. He was silent. They bathed in the silence for a few seconds as she moved her hands over Naruto's wound on his arm. Even years later, she made him shiver with her touch. Her fingers ghosted over the discolored jagged bruise running from his shoulder to his fore-arm.

He just tried really hard not to think of it.

"It's not receiving chakra." She murmured. Then something about blood vessels and clots and possibly scars.

"How long."

"A while."

"Save your chakra." Jiraiya grinned at her. She rolled her eyes. "One of my toads might have a salve for it."

"Your toads can deal with scars and burns and common boils, not _this_ —I can do it. But _after_ I assign people for this mission and deal with some issues." She added. "If you aren't in a hurry to leave. How did you manage to sustain that wound, anyway?"

He paused. She drew away.

"I can wait."

He didn't tell her that he was trying to restrain the boy. That poor, suicidal godson of his, tempted again and again with desires of a _power to save._

Hero complex.

"We'll need a Hyuuga." She said, crossing the floor of her office. "For tracking purposes. From what you tell me—perhaps an Inuzaka so we can speed up the process. I could send Maito Gai's team."

"He's got the Hyuuga prodigy on his team?"

"Neji Hyuuga."

And then Jiraiya thought of something.

"Send Naruto."

" _What_?"

"Gaara is one of his precious friends. He's been going on about that boy—of how there was someone _like_ him."

"This is the Akatsuki we are talking about." Tsunade sighed. "Do you think I'm actually stupid enough to send one of the jinchuuriki out right into their claws?"

"Ah—he can be bloody persistent."

"He doesn't need to know." Tsunade frowned. "Boy needs to get his emotions in check."

"Tsunade…"

"What?"

"You and I can't deny it. Sarutobi-sensei was _wrong_ about the tailed-beast's behavior. Perhaps, perhaps—it might actually be co-operative."

"In what way?" Tsunade asked him. "You realize that _no_ one would believe me. Try dealing with these elders for example, none of them appear to be very happy when Naruto was gained clearance in the exams. He was still advanced because he had skills with his shadow clones."

"The fact remains." Jiraiya thought, straying his eyes over her shoulder and at the Hokage's monument. "The fact remains that the Kyuubi was _manipulated_. Perhaps _it_ can tell us who did it. And _how_."

Tsunade was staring at him.

"For that, Naruto needs to co-operate with it."

"So what do you propose?" Tsunade paused. The intruder into the village—they _needed_ to know the identity of the intruder. "What does this have _anything_ to do with sending him off to fight Akatsuki?"

"He has to learn to control it."

"...?"

"He holds Gaara in high regard." Jiraiya said. "You can't violate his trust like Sarutobi-sensei did. He's a _shinobi_ not a weapon."

"Jiraiya, this is not about what Naruto wants. He's fifteen. He should understand the _repercussions_ of what he wants."

"No it's not," Jiraiya nodded. "But you have to understand that this mission would be _very_ important to Naruto. Its important for him to form bonds."

She blinked.

"I don't think I understand."

"Let him go on this mission to save the Kazekage."

"And his _safety_?" She said hollowly. "Is he ready to fight _S-_ ranked criminals?"

Jiraiya thought it was easier to talk to Sarutobi himself. Tsunade? Tsunade, not so much. She was always so _damn_ practical. Not cold. But horrifically practical. Practicality didn't help with delicate issues like a child's psyche.

Whether she liked it or not, she was her teacher's student.

It was understandable, he thought. She'd _lost_ a lot because of old men's wars and their weapons of destruction.

"Not yet." She gave him a look. "But soon." He amended.

So he decided to prod open that seam. She said nothing.

"Bonds make you stronger." Jiraiya said slowly. "They give you a reason to fight. That's' when you become the _fighter_ not the weapon. Not the sword. _Not_ the tool. We need Naruto to _trust_ you, trust this village and not let him fall into darkness."

And this was what the previous Hokages believed in. She brought her fist to her desk, exhaling out. He was unfazed. It was part of Konoha's law. She couldn't ignore the law.

"Give him a reason to fight?" She chuckled hoarsely. "Special treatment, you say? And who will deal with the mess incase..." She held up the crumpled letter between her fist. "Naruto loses control of himself. Incase he is captured? You?"

"I would drop _everything_ I have to save the boy." Jiraiya said softly. She stilled. "Even my life. And so would Kakashi. So please, reinstate Team Seven again."

She _understood_ even if her iron grip on the letter dug her nails into the flesh of her palm. He knew it. Bonds make you strong. Strong bonds held you together. Jiraiya believed that _Team Seven,_ this generation of Team Seven could change the previous fate of Konoha and all it's attackers. Naruto could.

Naruto was a hero.

Even if, the words _hero-complex_ cynically wove its way into his thoughts with reminders of dead legacies and beautiful martyrdom.

"Alright." Tsunade said quietly. "Alright then." She loosed her fist and stared at the crinkled letter. "We can have the Uchiha and Kakashi on the team, I suppose. I'm taking your advice," She sent him a piercing look. "As his _god_ father."

"And I'm trusting with you Naruto as his godfather." Jiraiya replied. "And Kakashi—and his teammates. I don't want to learn of his death, Tsunade. I know you don't either."

"I can't guarantee anything with your _stupid_ plan."

"Minato never wanted Naruto be a weapon of mass-destruction, nor have any reason for him to be hated. He is a hero. He's a boy." Jiraiya said. "All I ask is that you honor the Fourth's request like sensei never did."

"And unfortunately," Tsunade said. "The burden of a hero often means death."

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I'm not responsible for his life." She repeated. "But I will ensure it."

"That's more than enough."

* * *

.

There was the smell of heated broth and sizzling throughout the restaurant. People chattered aimlessly about their day and the sound of buzzing crowds outside, accompanied this chatter. Then someone lifted a flap of the shop, peeked in and hollered. He instilled a certain _silence_ in the shop—because _everyone_ knew him.

"Three bowls of ramen—old man!"

Teuchi looked up. His face brightened like a thousand watts. They started to mumble among themselves.

"Naruto!"

And Ayame peered through the doorway.

"Naruto?"

Naruto himself slid his thumb underneath his head-band and grinned widely. "Yeah! That's me!"

"Naruto!"

After some fussing and exclamations of how famished he was or how he really needed to put on weight and how their favorite customer was back, he was seated. And Naruto was still grinning stupidly at the counter and at the steaming bowl of ramen placed in front of him.

"I've missed this." He said through a mouthful, inhaling. "No one makes ramen as good as old man Teuchi!"

Teuchi wiped his hands off with a nearby towel and placed his hands on his hips. "Hell yes."

And they continued with amiable chatter of Naruto's missions. That's when they heard the sound of someone _else_ enter the fray. They pushed up the red flaps.

"Ah..."

Naruto froze between a bite. Then he _nearly_ choked. He began coughing, slapping the surface of the table while Teuchi looked on with a bright grin.

"Oho! More guests! Welcome!"

"This stupid voice, I couldn't have heard it anywhere but from here."

He spun around and with teary eyes at a half disgusted, half incredulous Sasuke.

"Sasuke-teme!"

" _Please_ swallow, dead last."

And Sasuke stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shinobi pants. He was wearing a black-blue shirt with a high collar and his sleeves were rolled up to his forearms. He was taller too, his _duck-butt_ hair—as Naruto called him once—was even _more_ duck-butt-ier than usual.

And Naruto scowled.

"What?"

He looked cooler than ever. The boy probably had girls running up to him, _as usual._

"You look even more of a bastard than before." He scowled.

"And you look stupider." Sasuke retorted.

Because Sasuke looked cooler. But he'd _never_ admit that out loud.

He had a lifted eyebrow and smirked. Naruto abandoned his bowl of ramen and lunged towards him with a grin. He slung an arm around Sasuke's head, much to the latter's squawks of indignation.

"I mean I missed pummeling you!"

"And why would you miss that?" Sasuke pushed him off. "You could always try beating me in your dreams—like always."

"Why you—wait, let me show you how _strong_ I've become dammit! I'll definitely make you eat dirt!" Naruto dragged him over to a seat much to Teuchi's pleasure. "Old man—he'll be having a bowl—no more because I don't have money!"

"Idiot, I already ate." Sasuke shrugged off his grasp. "Do you _mind_?"

But with the looks that _both_ Teuchi and Naruto gave him, Sasuke sighed, pulled out one of the wooden chopsticks.

"…one bowl of miso ramen."

Naruto laughed and chatted animatedly with Sasuke. Then they both heard the sound of the flaps of Ichiraku open up and a low drawl that followed that sound.

"Oh my—you see, I heard this yelling. Teuchi-san—you wouldn't happen to know where my wayward student was?" The man with a mask said.

Teuchi only grinned as Kakashi's eye landed on Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The blonde hollered excitedly. "Come here so I can give you a _nice_ mushy hug!"

"That's fine, you'll make my poor old back hurt." He assessed the blonde. "You've grown, sort of."

"What do you mean grown?" Sasuke asked Kakashi, elegantly slurping his bundle of noodles with his chopsticks. "Because I see no changes, physically, mentally or emotionally."

"Why _you_ —"

"Now now boys, you are scaring all our nice customers away." Kakashi sighed. He sent Teuchi an apologetic glance.

Teuchi waved his hand. "Eh—let the two of them have their fun. They haven't seen each other in _years_. The customers get it."

There was a mumble of approval from their customers. Someone called out, "Welcome back Naruto!" And the boy lifted his hand in half a gesture as he swallowed his noodles happily.

" _FANKS!"_

"Dobe, _please_. I'm losing my appetite."

"Besides," Kakashi said coming up to them. He let his arms rest on Naruto's and Sasuke's head. The two of them nearly tipped over into their bowls. "A little birdie told me something about the Hokage wanting to see us. Looks like we might be going on a little trip."

And just like that Naruto and Sasuke widened their eyes.

" _No way_!"

"TEAM SEVEN'S FIRST MISSION SINCE I'M BACK, 'TTEBAYO!"

Sasuke stuck his pinky into his ear and scowled. "There goes the rest of my ear-drums."

"Eat up boys. Not that I'm paying." Kakashi crinkled his eyes. "We have an appointment with the Hokage herself soon."

And then half way through the merry conversation about _what, who and when_ , Naruto turned to Kakashi who was nonchalantly turning the page on his newest Icha Icha book which Jiraiya had given him. He inclined his head toward the blonde.

"Is Sakura joining us?"

Sasuke was eerily silent. Kakashi didn't say much apart from, flipping to the next page and taking a lengthy pause. Naruto stared at him determinedly, reading his expression—or his single eye which was scanning the text of the paragraphs.

Backwards.

"No she won't, Naruto." He mentioned. "Hurry. We can't keep the Godaime waiting."

* * *

.

"ROOT." Danzo began. "Rise up."

At his side, Fuu Yamanaka and Torune Aburame were kneeling before him. They rose. Fuu wore no mask and neither did Torune. They pulled up their hooded garbs. They wore no hooded masks.

And dimly lit room illuminated the two _other_ ROOT members who also rose.

The two of them were dressed in hooded garbs. Both of them wore masks. The taller figure, a man, wore his mask over his face which had swatches of black paint over the bumps of his cheeks.

This one was Tiger.

The other member had a slightly different mask from the standard, red markings over white over the left eye. There was the form of a web etched on it.

This one was called Spider.

The marks were just distinguishing. Apart from that, they had no purpose than to remind the member of the Foundation that they were first and foremost— _servants_ of the leaf. There was no sentimental value attached to the code-names. But despite this, none of them bore any markings of the Leaf village. To do so, would compromise their village and the work they were trying to accomplish.

"Speak."

And Torune, or _Beetle_ began. On his finger, was a beetle, who crawled back underneath his sleeve.

"At approximately 1700 hrs this evening, the watch-tower on the south end of Konoha received a scroll detailing the attack on Suna. Our decoder interpreted the letter as an _attack_ from the criminal organization that The Foundation has deemed a threat."

"Their goal?"

"The Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara was abducted."

Spider shifted slightly. Danzou flickered his single gaze over to them. They stilled.

"Why?"

Fuu answered this.

"Because the Akatsuki have some sort of _interest_ with the tailed beasts of Konoha. My squad has managed to trail one of their members to the former Mizukage of Kirigakure. This is where their trail goes dead—for a few years. Incidentally sir," Fuu paused elegantly here. "One of the suspects in relation to the Kyuubi attack."

He waited for a few seconds.

"Jiraiya returning at this opportune time presents _more_ information to us." Danzou began. "But according to one of the plants in his _spy-network_ —I have managed to glean out the potential hideout of the Akatsuki. And undoubtedly, the Hokage will respond."

He paused.

"This is where I require the four of you to tail the Kazekage's retrieval squad."

* * *

.

"Team Seven. Congratulations on being reinstated."

And later, as Naruto was in the Hokage's office, he couldn't help but notice the changes. For example, Tsunade's office smelled of clean herbs. Old man Hokage's office always smelled the opposite—of musty tomes and moss. He always donned the appearance of a Hokage, in all his garbs from head to toe.

Tsunade on the other hand was dressed casually.

She had no regard for those customs. Naruto also noted with some amusement that her desk was replaced. Jiraiya told him stories about her, about how she would shatter large boulders for training, or how she beat him up when she caught him peeping in on her.

He looked around at all the people in the room.

There was Team Ten, Hyuuga Neji nodded at him whilst Lee nearly choked him to death before asking him for a competition. Tenten apologized to Tsunade on behalf of the two members of her team. Apart from them, there was Kiba who nodded at him. Gai clapped Kakashi a little too hard on his back.

"Doin' alright Naruto?" Kiba raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah!" He grinned back.

Then he felt a little apprehensive. Perhaps because of what Kakashi had pulled him aside to tell him—to prepare himself for the news.

"Before I begin to tell you about the details of this mission," Tsunade began. "I would like you all to know something about Naruto. Perhaps he can tell you himself."

Sasuke sent him a questioning look.

Naruto took a deep breath.

"…or I could." Tsunade trailed off.

"No," Naruto began. He sighed. "I need to take responsibility for this. I might be endangering all of you with…"

Kiba waited. Neji raised a brow and Tenten looked almost confused. Kakashi stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder.

"You don't have to shoulder it all alone." He said in a low voice. "Remember what I told you."

 _You have a team. You have friends._ _You aren't alone_.

"I am…the container of the Kyuubi."

There was silence.

Then Kiba let out a swear-word and was sent a piercing glance by Tsunade. He threw his hands up in front of him defensively.

"Relax, I didn't mean it in that way!" He said. "I meant, it all makes so much fuckin sense right now."

"Language." Tenten added, irate.

"What makes sense?" Naruto asked calmly. A still, calm like a dead sea.

Hyuuga Neji answered for Kiba.

"What Inuzaka means is that we now know why you were treated like you were the village pariah." The boy said. "Most people still bear scars from the Kyuubi attack, so it's _understandable._ It's not that hard, Uzumaki, you aren't special just because you have the nine-tails inside you." He added with a sniff.

Naruto blinked. Tenten was nodding.

"In fact," she said. "Lee is so moved by your sacrifice that he's about to cry."

And everyone watched with some ill-disguised amusement that Lee started bawling. Apart from Naruto. Naruto looked like he was about to cry.

"My WORTHY RIVAL! YOUR SACRIFICE IS MOVING, WILLING TO MOVE MOUNTAINS—"

"How could you guys..."

"He's too stupid to get it." Sasuke said, sticking a tapered finger into the ear facing Lee. He cringed. "Naruto I mean. What he needs is a nice, strong punch to the face to _understand_."

"Ah." Tsunade said dryly. "Men talk with fists, don't they?"

"Language!"

"I mean," Sasuke paused. "What everyone is trying to tell you is that it's no big deal, Kyuubi-container or not." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "You'll always remain an idiot to us."

And Kakashi chuckled, Tsunade smiled and Naruto scowled at the Uchiha.

"I can't tell if you are trying to comfort me or insult me."

"—HOW BEAUTIFUL, HOW DEEP YOUR LOVE IS FOR THE VILLAGE—"

"How about neither." Sasuke suggested. "Kyuubi or not, it doesn't change the fact that I can kick your ass."

"Well why don't we _go at it right—_ "

"Ehem." Tsunade cleared her throat. And the entire room fell silent just like that.

Everyone looked over to her, expectantly. "Now that we are past those…particularly touching moments. The reason I tell you this information is because Naruto will be in danger from an organization that threatens Konoha and jinchuuriki in all of the hidden villages."

Naruto thought of his little encounter.

" _Akatsuki_." He ground out.

Sasuke sent him a look.

"They have taken the Kazekage from Suna and left the village with lots of causalities—" She looked directly at Naruto who looked confused. "—they consisted of only _two_ members."

There was a ripple of disbelief in the members in the room.

"No way."

" _Holy_ shit."

And Tenten didn't even move to correct Kiba on his language. Her jaw was half open.

"Yes." Tsunade nodded. "Also Naruto. Do you know who the Kazekage of Suna is?"

Everyone in the room turned to look at him as a squawk of indignation emerged from the depths of his throat. He wasn't the one who answered.

"Gaara." Sasuke said with half a whisper. His eyes bled into red. "They _took_ Gaara."

"Correct."

Naruto clenched his fists. They took _Gaara_. They took his _brother_. He felt Kakashi's hold on his shoulder.

"Are we leaving _right_ now?" He growled out. Sasuke sent him another glance.

"Yes, this is a _time-sensitive_ mission that you must not fail." She said. "And according to Jiraiya's spy network—one of the older hide-outs was situated in the Land of Rivers. But you have to stop by Suna to regroup and consult the Suna ANBU."

* * *

.

"You are to infiltrate the hide-out in the Land of Rivers." Danzo said. "Let the squad sent by Tsunade handle the _retrieval_ of the Kazekage itself. Do not linger into their affairs."

He took a breath.

"I want you to engage a _certain_ notorious member of the group. According to the plant in the spy-network—he was seen communicating with Yakushi." Danzo tightened his grip over his staff. "I want information from him about Yakushi's whereabouts."

"But be warned. This is a _notorious_ member. He has single handedly taken out an entire country's militia and is a poisons expert." His eyes trained on Spider. "Akasuna no Sasori."

.

* * *

"Avoid fighting if needed?" Kakashi asked her.

"Yes." Tsunade said calmly. "The only reason why I'm sending you on this mission is because I know what this mission means to you, Naruto. But not without lesson. You will see _first_ hand what you are up against."

"…what do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Akatsuki." Tsunade ground out. "Are not to be taken lightly. Is that clear, _brat_?"

Naruto nodded humbly.

"I won't be a _liability_." He said.

"You can trust us, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said. "When do we depart?"

And that was that.

"One hour, meet the Suna delegate at the Gate in _exactly_ an hour. That's where I sent them." She said. "Dismissed."

* * *

.

"You will wait, allow the Kazekage's retrieval squad and the delegate to get a head start. Follow their trail and be _inconspicuous_. The Hokage has undoubtedly sent out some of her _elite_ members." Danzo told them. "Torune will be in charge of tracking."

"Yes Danzou-sama."

"Spider and Tiger will be our offensive, given the _lack_ of close-range that Akasuna no Sasori has in his arsenal according to the bingo-books. But bingo-books can be misleading. Judge according to the situation."

"But." Danzou paused. "You will have to _isolate_ him from the rest of the organization. If this task becomes too unbearable—retreat. Is that clear?"

And they choroused.

"Yes Danzou-sama."

"Dismissed."

.

.

* * *

.

As he got out of the Hokage's Tower and parted from Naruto and Kakashi, Sasuke took to the roofs. He moved swiftly from roof to roof—lost in thought. His eyes roving over the green, forested horizon and the Uchiha district which was buzzing with noon-day activity. He slowed down. And as he watched his cousin and her son, make their way out of the bakery, Naori looked up at him.

And so did six-year-old Setsuna, who was currently wearing a pack over his shoulders.

He nodded his head.

She nodded back. Setsuna waved. He waved as well.

He continued on his way. He was thinking of Gaara. Gaara was… _powerful_. Everything that Sasuke had _dreamed_ of going up against. But in those days, he wanted power. The approval of his father and the clan and the pressure of Konoha weighing down on him to _win_. But no one _won_ that match because Gaara had lost his mind.

And the invasion began—the stadium erupted into battle.

He closed his eyes.

 _Gaara_. The Akatsuki. Why did it feel like they were going to be going up against _stronger_ opponents from this moment onwards?

He unlocked the door of his house, slid off his shoes and called out.

"I'm home!"

And when no response came, he spread his sense over the house. His mother and father weren't home. Itachi was, on the other hand. Itachi was in his room.

He pulled open his dresser drawer and threw his knap-sack onto the bed.

"Sasuke?"

He looked up from sorting out piles of clothes to take.

Itachi was leaning against his door.

And his brother, over the past two and a half years had been recovering steadily from the degenerative disease in his lungs. It caused him to produce less oxygen for his sharingan, for his activity which meant that Itachi was easily overwhelmed. Tsunade managed to rectify his lung tissue…and _reconstruct_ it through one tedious surgery.

So he was now steadily recovering use of his lungs and breathing. He was doing better.

"Aniki what are you doing out of bed?"

"I'm not sick enough to remain bed-ridden. I was reading. Where are you going?" Itachi asked him. He pulled off his glasses.

Recently he had begun sparring and training again. Unfortunately, he could still beat Sasuke. Sasuke liked to placate his pride by thinking of Itachi as a _former_ ANBU captain.

"A mission." Sasuke said. "To Suna."

"When will you be back?"

"If we're lucky, perhaps by the end of this week." Sasuke paused. "It's a time-sensitive mission that takes effect in one hour."

"I see." Itachi nodded. "Have you sharpened your kunai? Packed clean undergarments?"

"Aniki! I'm not a genin." Sasuke scowled. Itachi merely chuckled, reached forward and flicked his forehead. "Stop that!"

"Who are you leaving with?"

And Sasuke couldn't help the bright smile on his face. "Team Seven."

Itachi lifted an elegant eyebrow.

"Hokage-sama reinstated your old team?" He asked Sasuke carefully.

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "Naruto's back. So Kakashi and him are going to be on the same mission along me. We're teaming up with Team Gai."

"Sounds like a large mission." Itachi observed. "Must be a difficult one. Good luck."

"Thank you." Sasuke said.

"What about the other member of your team?" Itachi then asked him. "Haruno Sakura?" He pronounced as if her name was a polite greeting.

For Naruto its was 'Naruto-kun'. For his _other_ former teammate who he never saw these days, Itachi reserved caution in his tone. But Sasuke didn't notice this. Itachi was far more practiced in subtlety than he was.

"She won't be joining us." He said with a shrug.

"Ah." Itachi said.

"Tsunade-sama said we might have a new member in the future."

And like that, he thought, she was well and thoroughly replaced. He didn't see Itachi's disquieted look. It was a momentary.

He hadn't seen Sakura in months. But then again, the last time he saw her was after a mission when he checked in one of the members of his team. Sakura was always _busy_. She had entered the lobby. He watched as she leaned over the desk for the second file, tapping clear, clean-cut nails on the surface of the desk, rhythmically and maddeningly in sync with the sound of the beep of the emergency alarm overhead.

Sakura paused by the receptionist and then—like she felt _eyes_ on her back—at him. She nodded curtly. He nodded back.

Even though he and Sakura had _some_ kind of friendship (they didn't ignore each other nor did they actively seek each other out). She presented herself as a very guarded person. She _owed_ him nothing and he owed her nothing. And that was it.

But was there an opportunity for them to be a team again?

It was unlikely. He was sure Kakashi and _even_ Naruto had silently accepted it.

She was no longer a ninja.

He _clenched_ the tab of his bag and drew it open.

"When you get back, we'll train." Itachi said, changing the topic. "If you can beat me, perhaps I'll deem you ready for your Jounin exams."

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Yes!"

* * *

.

To the regular passer by, she looked like a middle aged woman. It was a henge that bore an astonishing likeness to one of her deceased aunts who lived in one of the smaller villages in Fire country. She weaved in and out of the crowds until she brushed shoulders with Shikamaru. She leaned closer, reached for his hand and shook it in an amiable greeting. And she pulled away, he placed the sheet of paper into his back pocket.

"Noted." He said softly.

And he whispered into her ear.

Her eyes widened.

She retreated back into the crowds. She made her way to her apartment to pack her belongings. Torune wanted her to report back to him in an hour once she restocked on her weapons.

She unlocked the door of her deathly quiet apartment, shut the door—and _breathed_ out. The seals lit up in the room before fading into her walls. The genjutsu she placed over her window was dispersed. An outside looking in would look at the dark, dark apartment. And her black bled into pink, spreading over the strands of her hair, from her roots to the tips of her hair. The illusion fell apart. She peeled off her mask, lifted it gingerly and propped it over her head.

She snapped on the light.

She blinked away the bright light hitting her squinted black eyes.

Her pupils melted into bright green. Sakura Haruno blinked again.

She slid down against the door, allowing herself a little reprieve before this _large_ , taxing mission. She closed her eyes, thinking of sunshine, bright blue eyes and a boy who told her that she would be _strong_.

Who _believed_ in her.

She wondered where he was in the village right now.

"Naruto's back?" She whispered to herself. She cracked into a slow smile. "Maybe I'll say hi when I get back."

Then she stood up. Because there were so many things to do, and _so_ little time.

* * *

.

And when Naruto approached the gates with Team Kakashi in tow. Team Gai and Kiba followed as well—he paused at the determined look on Temari's face. She clenched her fists.

"I'm going to _kill_ them." She said, her voice wavering. "I'm going to _kill_ them if anything's happened to Gaara."

And he nodded as well.

"We _both_ will." He said with confidence. Because the _hero_ never loses. "I won't let them get away from any of this."

"Let's leave." Kakashi ordered. "Temari, you stay with Team Kakashi. Team Gai, you'll be taking a different route."

* * *

.

"It works out in the end. He watches me. I watch him back. As long as he doesn't step out of line, whatever ROOT does, he doesn't bother me." Tsunade said.

"And this mission? This mission shadowing, possibly interfering with the affairs of the Kazekage's retrieval?" Shikamaru asked. "Or his _sources_ of information?"

"Within his rights. He said he would _look_ out for our snake. If he has some leads on it. He can engage as needed. I only interfere when he exploits this information for personal gain. This is the law surrounding the formation of ROOT."

"Ah."

"I'm not at all surprised that he would do this." Tsunade took another swig of sake. "Jiraiya always suspected that there was a plant in the spy-network. Most information about the Akatsuki was relatively useless so he wasn't very bothered." She paused. "It works out because Danzou is fiercely loyal to the Leaf so none of this information would compromised or is planted."

There was a length pause.

"As long as he isn't in power, we are good." She continued. "I don't know what he's playing at though, sending her out on a mission like this."

Shikamaru was leaning against the floral wallpaper of her bedroom and waited.

They shared looks.

"She's a threat?" He asked quietly. "Sakura's a threat to him?"

"Of course she is. She has _ties_ with me. I'm a threat. But she's too influential and powerful as a poison and medical specialist." Her eyes flickered over to Shikamaru. "And sharp. We also always have provisions for her."

"I see."

"He can't do it." Tsunade mentioned again, as if she was _trying_ to sound convinced. "She's a valuable asset to the leaf."

She crumpled the chit of paper on which Sakura had scrawled her message on. It disintegrated into specks of dust.

"It's no matter." She said. "Because if _anything_ , anything happens to Sakura, I'm not the only one he has to answer to."

She paused.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha would raise hell." She rolled her eyes. "And that would give your father an opportunity to lunge for his throat."

Shikamaru half-smiled and half-grimaced at the image. He also imagined his father surround Danzou with one shift of a piece, like a shogi game.

"Yeah."

Checkmated.

.

.

.

Unless and until someone didn't play by the rules.

* * *

a/n why are alskjdnalsdn breaklines being so stupid? Also, ty for reading my story, Unbeta'd. About Tsunade, I mean, you can see a difference? A subtle difference in her character? Idk is it just me? Maybe I'm trying too hard with her character?


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